Two More Weeks
by cattykitty
Summary: It's been 4 months since Usagi and Mamoru have seen each other after their first date. Both have had eventful summers, but a lot can change in a short period of time. Are they still enemies? Friends? Lovers? And they thought it had been complicated before… Sequel to Seven Days. Mature audiences only.
1. Prologue - The Subconscious

_CattyKitty_

Hey everybody! I'm so exited to finally get this up! I've been working on it a really long time and I hope you all enjoy it. I know this chapter is relatively short, but the next chapter will be up next week so bear with me.

If you didn't know, this is the sequel to _Seven Days_ so if you haven't read that yet this will make no sense to you. There is also an interlude between these two stories called _One Night_ that provides valuable exposition. Please read those two stories before this one! Thanks!

(Standard disclaimer: I do not own any of the Sailor Moon characters of which I am writing about. This story is an original that I wrote for fun and without compensation. All characters belong to Naoko Takeuchi.)

PS- I hope I don't offend anyone… (This story is rated M for a reason.)

Two More Weeks

**Prologue**

**The Subconscious**

***Usagi***

She had a hard time recalling how she'd gotten where she was. Or why. Nothing was all too clear for her at the moment. But it was happening… She couldn't believe this was happening.

She could barely see anything. The overpowering smell of baked goods was the only marker of her location. The empty milk crate she sat on was uncomfortable and as she sunk deeper into it, she was sure that the pressure of her weight would etch the marking of its design on her behind.

"Don't move," he repeated, "don't talk."

She didn't nod nor respond; it would go against his command. Instead she closed her eyes and focused on calming herself, but it was hopeless. Her breathing was much too quick to not escape noisily and the pounding in her chest she was sure could be heard out loud. It was impossible to be calm in this type of situation, however she had to-

"Stop. Squirming." He was forceful, holding her wrists tighter on each one of her thighs. Spreading her legs apart further, he lowered his head, his face shielded completely by the late night.

Stilling, her body tensed once again the moment he moved closer. She couldn't believe this was happening to her. If she struggled she knew it would be pointless and screaming would also get her absolutely nowhere. But if he touched her one more time…

"I fucking told you!" His hand was quick to grab her neck. She closed her mouth and tried to swallow but it was futile as he choked her. "Don't make me repeat myself." She nodded quickly and he finally released her, sliding his hand down over her breast to her lap.

Although her vision was inexplicably unfocused, she knew that he was kneeling on the floor before her. She could feel his breath warm on her legs where he had pushed aside her long pea coat and lifted her skirt. She squeezed her eyes tight as the sound of his labored breathing filled her with dread; he was ready to start her torture.

"Don't move your hands." Spreading her fingers apart for her, he made her hold onto her inner thighs. "Watch me."

That she refused to do and kept her head tilted up, eyes shut and away from the awfulness. But she kept her hands where he placed them, a shocking amount of tingling following his gloved hands as they made their way lower. A single finger poked her center and she jumped.

"Stop moving," he growled but made no attempt to restrain her and instead poked her once more, this time keeping his finger there longer and scratching the material of her panties down then back up again. He kissed her tilted chin, his breath right on her throat. "You'll enjoy this."

Shame overwhelmed her and she couldn't bear the thought of his words being true. This was crazy. _He_ was crazy. There was no way she could enjoy this… He suddenly pulled her hair, forcing her to look at him. His eyes, skin and hair were dark. His entire essence was pitch black.

"If you cooperate, that is." There was a grin forming as they stared at one another, his teeth peeking from atop his bottom lip. "Don't make this any harder than it has to be." He raised his brow in question and she swallowed hard but refused to concur.

His hands made themselves busy again and went back to their previous position. Gloved fingers pushed themselves deep inside through her underwear and dug in with an uncomfortable amount of friction. She grit her teeth and his smile only widened, keeping his eye contact steady as he pulled back out to move her underwear aside.

His pushed her nub and moved it side to side, around in circular motions until something satisfied him. Moving his hand away from her, he lifted it to her face, spreading his gloved fingers proudly as their tips glistened in the low light.

"I knew you wanted this." He slid his two fingers inside her again and they went in smoothly. His satisfaction was evident in the curl of his lip and eager attentiveness as he watched himself continue to probe her. "Enjoying yourself, you dirty slut?"

She squeezed her eyes tighter.

It was cold, way too cold, but her core, in between her legs, she was on fire. Her coat was unzipped and its lapel flapped in the wind along with her loose hair. Her own mind wandered briefly, wishing that she'd had a scarf but then hastily decided it was a good thing that she didn't have one as she was sure it would have been used as a tool against her.

Her assailant finally removed his hands away from her. The relief of this momentary freedom sent a wave of hope throughout her body that translated in a shiver. Was he finally going to stop? She tentatively opened her eyes to peek at him.

"Don't move while I gag you." She stared at him wide-eyed as he suddenly had her red scarf in his hand. _But_ _how.._?

In a flash, he moved around to cover her mouth and tied the scarf tightly at the back of her head. She barely had time to even figure out what was happening before the deed was done and he leaned back staring pleased at his work.

Grabbing her hands, he forced her to stretch out her lips, digging his fingers into the back her palms as he wanted her to spread them farther. Humiliated at what he was making her do, her shoulders started to shake until her whole body was trembling.

Removing his gloves, he didn't take his gaze off her body and pushed her knees as far apart as possible. Slapping both her inner thighs until they were raw, he watched fascinated as her fingers tried to keep themselves steady despite the pain.

It was becoming more difficult for her to breathe. The scarf was wide and her moving caused it to expand to cover her nose. She was feeling dizzy due to the lack of air and his hits only made her feel more out of breath. He disregarded her writhing.

"I think you're ready now." He unbuckled his pants and pulled the crate she was on closer. He leaned in to the side of her face and started smelling her hair. "Since you've been such a good girl," he whispered, his lips moving to her ear, "I'll let you choose which position you want." She shivered as his hand came to her neck and stroked her down to the collarbone. "Tell me, Odango, how do you want it?" Mamoru finally pulled down the scarf as he waited on an answer and she was relieved at her unblocked access to air. She took a deep breath.

Then she woke up.

Opening her eyes in the darkness of her room, she sat up in bed to try calm her panting. It seemed that she had been holding her breath in her sleep. She took another deep breath as she let her mind sift through what was real and what wasn't. Her mom was definitely doing some early morning baking downstairs… and her window was wide open so the November winds were doing her no favors. Some things slowly added up, while others, not so much.

_Mamoru was raping her in a dirty alleyway_.

A slew of emotions overwhelmed her. Shame, guilt, disgust, but all those were trumped by the adrenaline-like excitement of her completely aroused state.

It was hard to make sense of her thoughts since none of her worries were realistic. If she were ever so lucky that Mamoru was her rapist, every little thing he could do to her she wanted to happen so it would be more than consensual. (Also, tidbit: she was fricken _Sailor Moon!_ She could overpower any normal man. Even if he tried he couldn't.)

But in her dream (and yes it was a dream, _not_ a nightmare), she was more than submissive. There were plenty of times that she could have gotten up and started beating his ass, but nooo—she was practically volunteering herself up for his abuse. Did that make her sick? Probably, especially when she knew there were parts that she had dictated herself (the scarf magically appearing to tie her up, _come on_). But she guiltily had to admit that it was the best dream she'd had in a long time.

"Tell me how you want it…" She shivered just remembering how close he'd been to her. If only it had been real.

She had woken up before she was able to answer him but she knew what she had wanted to say, what she was going to say: "Any way you want." And she meant it. Biting her bottom lip, goose bumps covered her flesh in the dark as it became clear to her that this wasn't a dream.

It was her fantasy.

* * *

***Mamoru***

The sun was setting. Soon it would be dark and his time would run out. He had to be fast. He screamed her name out, but received no response. He had to find her no matter what it took.

The early spring flowers that she loved so much were in full bloom and they filled the meadows with vibrant colors. Clouds hung above him and water poured down unexpectedly, soaking him to the bone. He tromped over the fragrant flowers to the nearest canopy of trees, his heavy cloak dragging behind him on the ground. Taking cover, he looked hard over his surroundings and hoped to see her. The massive urge to continue the search in the darkness lead him through thickets of shrubbery and sharp wildlife. Cuts to his arms and legs meant nothing if he could reach her in time.

And then he saw her. The only white in the dark. Her gold threaded embroideries glistened in the night and guided a path for him to follow. He ran fast, finally catching up to her and reached out for her hand but she was just out of his touch. She looked back at him for just a moment—and she was faceless. He stopped moving and she disappeared.

He called her name again, but he could only hear her laughter in response. Finally seeing her movements between the trees, he urged himself to start running again. He caught up to her until he was less than a foot away, but remained at the same distance regardless of how fast he ran. For what seemed like hours he continued until he was sick to his stomach from the effort. A heaviness weighed him down, effectively making the distance between them larger and larger until the gap was so that he couldn't even see her anymore. He would never reach her in time. She would always be just a second away, so close, yet forever slipping through his fingers. The realization that they would never reunite landed on his shoulders like death itself. It was a pain he could not stand to bear.

Mamoru woke up in cold sweat moments later. Bits of the dream remained, but the pieces hardly made any sense as his mind worked furiously to string them together again. He had no idea what he had been dreaming about, but the pressing anxiety lingered, diminishing rapidly. Every second of consciousness pulled him further and further from the truth and he could only remember his despair, but that memory was fleeting and then, just like that, it too was gone.

* * *

***Usagi***

The jingling sound of the arcade doors had stopped holding her interest long ago. Too many months of false excitement had made her lose hope that she'd be seeing Mamoru anytime soon. He was gone and she needed to get over it.

For whatever reason she chose to look up this time, glancing away from her melting sundae to view the new visitor. And there he was. He had returned. She couldn't believe that Mamoru was finally back. He hadn't changed a bit (of course not, it had only been a few months), but seeing his dark hair and eyes, his movements… it was so comforting to experience again.

Their eyes met and he moved slowly across the room, one hand holding his long jacket and the other a cup of coffee. It wasn't until he was a few feet away that she realized he was walking to her. She kept her gaze trained on his face.

"Odango."

She stood up when he was close, his stupid grin much too missed to not be reciprocated. Without thought, she wrapped her arms around his waist and she squeezed. She never wanted to let go.

"It's been a while, hasn't it?"

Mamoru's hand went to the back of her head, keeping her in place where she had buried into his chest. He smelled, felt, held her just like she remembered. She finally moved away and pulled him to sit beside her. She leaned in and he met her halfway.

Everyone else around them melted into the background when their lips met. They spun blissfully until they were no longer in the arcade but in their own little world. She was only reintroduced into reality when they broke away, their eyes never leaving each other. Mamoru held her face, whispering sweet things as he caressed her cheeks. She couldn't be happier. She would never be happier than when she was with him. He held her tight, wrapping his arms around her.

"I missed you," he said into her hair. "I love you, Usagi."

Her heart burst. It was all she'd ever wanted to hear him say. She opened her eyes to look up at his adoring face, but she was the only one left on the bench. Mamoru was gone.

All was still for a long pause before it picked back up in a fast-forward. She covered her ears as windows suddenly shattered behind her. She turned to see the buildings outside leveling until only smoke occupied the sky. The table she sat at crumbled to dust and she watched in horror as the arcade walls melted before her very eyes. The floor shook then disappeared and she fell down into the eternal blackness.

She screamed, landing with a jolt on her bed. Clutching her chest and throat, she flew to the bathroom tripping over invisible things on the floor and threw up in the sink.

That was horrible.

Trembling, she stared at herself in the medicine cabinet mirror. She couldn't believe that a nightmare could have such an effect on her. The images of destruction were playing themselves over in her head with unjust clarity. Everything had felt so real. Her heart thumped unnaturally and she was doubled over hyperventilating trying not to puke again. Was this what having a panic attack felt like?

After a few minutes of face splashes and rigorous water gargling, she was able to control her heart rate, but the fear still lingered even as she cocooned herself under her quilt again. It wasn't fair that she hadn't been able to enjoy what should have been the best moment of her (dreaming) life. Everything that she could ever have wanted to happen did and yet she hadn't been able to bask in the splendorous feelings because the world decided to combust on itself.

It seemed that everything dealing with Mamoru would end broken. If this wasn't the universe giving her hints, then she didn't know what was. She yearned for Mamoru's affection, but even her subconscious understood reality. Without a doubt, Mamoru declaring his love for her would be the last thing to happen on the entire planet. She would laugh at the absurdity of her vision if only the brutal honesty of it all didn't make her want to cry.

* * *

-Cattykitty


	2. Chapter 1 - Homecoming

_CattyKitty_

Was the prologue too much for you guys? I hope not! This chapter is going to be set in reality, I swear! Hope you all enjoy :)

Please don't forget to leave a review!

(Standard disclaimer: I do not own any of the Sailor Moon characters of which I am writing about. This story is an original that I wrote for fun and without compensation. All characters belong to Naoko Takeuchi.)

Two More Weeks

**Chapter 1**

**Homecoming**

***Usagi***

Usagi walked slowly into her second period class. As she took her seat, Yusuke walked into the classroom just as the 2-minute warning bell rang. Usually they avoided each other at all costs since she'd dissed him last semester, but lately she'd been finding him staring at her. She wasn't sure what he was thinking or what he wanted, but she didn't care. Just because he'd started being nicer to people ever since his jerk posse graduated, it didn't mean that everybody instantly forgot how much of asshole he'd been for the past 4 years, especially not her.

She and Yusuke made eye contact. When she realized that her desk was his destination, she focused her attention out the classroom windows. She didn't have time to deal with him. They were not friends.

"What a lucky guy." Yusuke stood before her and she was forced to turn back as he placed something on her desk. She had no idea what he was talking about until she noticed the picture on the magazine in front of her. Mamoru was on the cover.

She wasn't sure how to respond or if she even should. So he still recognized Mamoru from all those months ago. She wasn't surprised considering he was what all the tabloids talked about lately. But what exactly was Yusuke's point in showing her this in the first place? Even if he said something about seeing them together once no one would believe him anyway. Mamoru was a rich playboy and she a mediocre high school student; there were almost no credible connections to grasp at.

She kept her glare on Yusuke as Ichigo walked into class and made his way toward them. She dared Yusuke to say something in front of him.

"Morning, babe." Ichigo leaned down to kiss her cheek and said hi to Yusuke, not finding anything weird about the two of them together. "Oh, it's that singer!" he said, noticing the magazine on her desk. "I love her music. Who's she with? That lucky bastard."

"That's what I said." Yusuke was still looking at her. "He could get any girl he wanted."

"Wonder what its like to be him," Ichigo said in awe, noticing the other candid pictures surrounding the middle one, all images of Mamoru with gorgeous women.

"I'm sure you have more things in common with him than you realize," Yusuke replied, taking the magazine back and tossing it in the trash behind them. "You'll see." He gave her an innocent smile. Was he _threatening_ her?

Ichigo shrugged, having no clue to what Yusuke had been referring to, but her fingers were angrily drumming on her desk. That piece of shit. She couldn't believe he was still so bitter. Even though she was sure he was just trying to get under her skin, the idea of him having a sort of blackmail over her was infuriating.

Thankfully the teacher chose that moment to come in forcing Yusuke back to his seat. Ichigo squeezed her shoulder before moving two rows over to take his own seat, giving her a worried look after he'd realized how pissed she looked. He was confused, but then he cupped his hands together to form the shape of a heart and then pointed at her. She ignored him.

After class, Ichigo had given her a look like he wanted to talk but she rushed straight to Mako's locker hoping to catch her before the second bell rang again. As usual there was a group of girls surrounding her asking her for the best, fastest, easiest recipes they could make for their boyfriends. Ever since she'd gotten that internship-turned-part-time-job as a chef at a 5-star restaurant in downtown Tokyo, Mako headed straight to stardom herself.

She was the youngest sous chef in town and their high school's very own local celebrity. They even gave her an entire four-page spread on the school newspaper dedicated to her weekly top food picks and her very popular column 'Dishes Under 10 Minutes'. It took a few seconds before Mako realized it was just her tapping her shoulder and not another fan.

"Usa!" Mako looked relieved, pushing the crowding girls out of her way easily. The girls mumbled among themselves as they slowly dispersed, knowing that Mako was no longer listening to any of them. "I wanted to talk to you. Look at what I found!"

She was rummaging through her bag for a few seconds, a couple of pencils falling out before she handed her a rolled up magazine. Like she hadn't had enough of these. Mako bent down to pick up her fallen items and she stared at the magazine in her hand, afraid of what other gossip was going around about the first man she'd ever slept with. She carefully unrolled the paper, but it wasn't a magazine at all. It was a calendar. A swimsuit calendar to be exact.

"Can you believe it?" Mako said, her head shaking.

On the cover was a blonde girl laying on a sandy white beach, crystalline water from the shore splashing behind her. She wore a bright blue, tiny bikini and had her eyes closed, head tilted back with smile on her face, lips parted. Her back was arched and she had one leg slightly raised over the other, stretched out with her arms above her head, totally relaxed and totally sexy. It was Mina.

"This is what she's been doing all this time?" She couldn't believe it. Mina had her own calendar? She flipped through the rest of the pages quickly, each new picture just as amazing as the last. They were all sexy, but none of the pictures were trashy, like many calendars of this sort tended to be, and she was covered up tastefully in all of them except for one picture she was pretty sure was body paint. "She looks amazing."

"I know. All of the pictures look perfect." She and Mako were silent for a little bit, flipping through the pictures again. They hadn't seen Minako in months and were still uncomfortable about what had happened, but it was mutually understood that they were both happy for her regardless. This was what she had wanted to do, model, and they were truly glad everything worked out for her. No matter what, they would always be connected. She would always be _their_ Venus.

"Who gave you this?" She turned the calendar over and looked for the release date on the back. It showed the published date of the current month and year, but nothing else beside credits.

"Max," Mako replied, rolling her eyes when Usagi scrunched up her nose. "He said Kunzite gave it him, _relax_."

"Sure he did," she muttered. "What's up with you two anyway? I mean he's really helped you out. Got you that job and everything. I know something has to be going on there." The school bell rang.

"I told you already, we're just friends." Mako's blush really didn't make her very believable, but due to time concerns she wasn't able to press on. Right then Ami passed, well, more like ran, by them. Mako flagged her down. "Ami-chan!"

Ami hesitated before coming to a stop a few yards away from. She turned around but didn't look like she wanted to talk to either of them. It didn't faze them because Ami acted like didn't have time for anything lately. Or anyone. She just couldn't understand why Ami still spent so much time studying when she'd already gotten early acceptances into all the universities she'd applied to. Seemed like such a waste to her.

"Mako-chan, Usagi-chan." Ami was staring at her watch. "I have to go." Usagi held up Mina's calendar and Ami tensed, but dropped her hand, looking down. It was the same every time. Whenever they mentioned Mina, something was off about Ami.

"Look." Usagi tried handing it to her, but Ami didn't take it.

"I saw it already," Ami finally answered. "Fujji-san showed me." Damn, did every guy own this? "It came out yesterday."

"Oh," she and Mako replied together. That was rather anti-climatic, but it shouldn't surprise them that Ami was always one step ahead of them.

"So why is your 'tutor' showing you such sexy calendars, eh, Ami-chan?" Mako joked and she laughed along with her. "What are you and Zoi 'studying' exactly?" Ami got serious real fast.

"You girls are so _retarded_."

"Uh-oh!" Usagi snickered, bumping elbows with Mako childishly. "She only says retarded when she's really angryyyy!" She and Mako burst into laughter. Ami rushed away from them.

"We were just kidding, Ami-chan! C'mon!" Ami didn't stop walking and she hissed when they yelled out her name again, quickly disappearing into a classroom down the hall. Now her and Mako were the only ones left in the hallway and decided to head to class before they were late.

"See you at lunch," she called after Mako, parting ways to go to her next class.

She opened the door to her classroom as slowly as possible hoping that everybody was still getting settled in to notice her. Unfortunately all eyes jumped straight to her as everyone had already started their assigned reading. She fumbled into class, embarrassed and rushed over to her seat, but not before dropping the calendar. She stared at Mina's near naked form as her peers leaned over their seats to take a peek at what had fallen. She picked it up quickly, but there were already hushed murmurs going around the classroom, mostly from catty girls that disliked her.

"Tsukino-san! Quit disrupting the class and take your seat!" the teacher hollered and she quickly moved to the back of the class.

Luckily the class quieted after that and not a peep was heard until the bell rang again, but by then she was out of there. Senior year was not all that it was cracked up to be. Luckily, since she still had some of the best friends in the world (thankfully the school year had reunited her with Rei, Mako and Ami again from the distance summer had wedged between them), her jealous classmates just blended into the background.

In the beginning it hadn't been like this. When the first magazine with pictures of her shopping with Cass came out, everybody was shocked and wouldn't stop asking how she met and became friends with someone so 'fucking hot', 'stylish', 'business savvy', like Koan Ayakashi. To her, Cass was fun and weird and sexy all at the same and it was her carefree attitude that she was attracted to the most.

Then as the weeks rolled by and more and more picture surfaced of her and Rei with Cass at boutiques and fancy restaurants, the attitude of the girls around her changed. Now she was no longer hanging out with the owner of the hippest spa in the city, but with 'useless trash' 'a slut' 'a celebrity wannabe' 'attention whore', sometimes of which she had no doubt the titles were meant for her as well. It had been hard to deal with the negativity at first especially since she was always (in her mind) the lovable girl who got along with everybody, but she'd quickly come to terms with it. Haters were everywhere but as long as she knew who her real friends were, she would survive.

"Usa!" It was Makoto running to catch up with her. They walked to the roof together for lunch and sat on a corner, waiting for Ami despite knowing she wouldn't show up. A group of freshman girls were slyly inching closer to them to grab them in conversation, but they ignored them. "I can't wait to graduate already," Mako muttered as the girls kept trying.

"I know," she responded, taking the extra dumpling Mako hadn't eaten out of her box with her fingers. "These girls are so annoying." She popped the whole thing in her mouth as Mako leaned in closer, her breath on her ear.

"Look at her magazine," she whispered. Mako was referring to their stalking audience. "The page facing us." She tried to squint, but she could barely make out a couple: a blonde girl in a pink shirt, black skirt and cropped white jacket. Her outfit from two days ago. She almost choked. "Did you go out with Diamond again? Because I think that's what they're trying to ask you about."

She wanted to rip the magazine out the girl's hand. Instead she leaned over and casually asked them to borrow it. The girls nodded enthusiastically. Mako was right, it _was_ her with Diamond (Mamoru's business stand-in while he was away whom she'd met on a night out with Cass). He was opening the door for her, his hand on her back as they went into Mako's restaurant together. Oh god.

They scanned the page for any signs of her name, but thankfully there weren't any. They just referred to them as Diamond with a 'friend' out for lunch. She wanted to scream her lungs out. She couldn't believe this. She was only there because she was meeting up with Mako. How convenient that Rei, who was walking behind her, had been strategically cropped out the picture. Those editing bastards!

"Wait, you wore that on Saturday," Mako pointed out.

"Yeah, this was on Saturday! At Japu's. When me and Rei went to get you after work. We were just walking in together and we just happened to meet out front. Rei was right behind me. I _cannot_ believe this."

"At least they didn't see you two out together the first time," Mako muttered and she wanted to strangle her. The girls, who had been staring at her the entire time since she took the magazine, covered their mouths and turned around briskly in shock. Mako caught her mistake and apologized quickly.

"Whatever. Let's get out of here." Without hesitating, she ripped out the page with her and Diamond and crumpled it up, pushing it to the bottom of her bag. She didn't care that it only made her look more guilty, she couldn't give it back to them knowing that it was the page they were going to be talking about for the rest of the day. She tossed the magazine back at the group of girls and left.

Mako raised no objection when she suggested they skip their afternoon classes and leave school early. They both were dying to get the hell out of there anyway; it was just too stressful. School was a burden now that there was such a huge spotlight on them.

Deciding to meet Rei, they took the long route to her school in order to waste some time before it was her dismissal. When they finally got in front of the T.A. high school, Rei and her entourage were hanging outside the school building. As she and Mako approached Rei, some of the girls screamed and one even jumped into another girl's arms in excitement.

"Stop fucking embarrassing me!" Rei snarled, completely disgusted with the way the girls behind her were acting, as if they somehow reflected upon her. The girls stopped immediately. "They're so hooked on Max it's not even funny," Rei filled them in after they left the other girls behind and started walking toward the temple. "They act like you being here might make him appear or something. Those girls are insane."

"Why in the world would he be here with me?" Mako huffed. "He works and has a life that has nothing to do with me! People swear like we're dating or something! I just don't get it. Can't two people just be friends?"

"_No_," she and Rei said in unison. How did Mako not get that concept yet?

"We rarely even see each other for people to believe that!" Mako argued.

"He's flown out to come see you 7 times in the past two months! That sounds often to me." Mako threw her hands up in the air.

"Of course he's going to come check up on me, I'm like a freaking investment!" Mako argued. "It's his ass on the line if I mess up; I'd do the same thing!" In a calmer tone, she looked straight ahead and spoke seriously. "I really appreciate what he's done for me. My boss said his letter of recommendation was the best he'd ever read. I'm just a teenager and yet he's risked his reputation to help me. I feel nothing but gratitude towards him."

"Isn't that his job anyway? He's like a seeker for the company?"

"It's called a scout, but that's only for the main company, not any of its subsidiaries." Mako stopped talking when she realized that she'd lost her and Rei. "That's beside the point! He's a wonderful person is all I'm trying to say. If anything, he's like a mentor to me."

"But he's so hot! Just tell us what's going on between you two," she begged. "I swear we won't tell anyone!"

"Usagi," Mako spoke slowly, "you of all people should be able to understand. Just because something appears one way, it doesn't mean that's what it is. Like you and Diamond for instance." She begrudgingly nodded and Mako proceeded to inform Rei about the picture from earlier. "Even though that's a little harder to explain because while me and Max just talk business—and have _never_ been somewhere alone, might I add—you two actually went out on a date. So you try explaining _that_."

"It was one time!" she exasperated. "And I told you two already. Totally innocent!" They both gave her _that_ look and her defending argument continued on until they reached the temple. "I swear I don't even like him that much," she said as they entered Rei's room. "When he asked me out, I just couldn't say no. He's so nice." She turned on the TV and all three of them laid on their stomachs across Rei's bed.

"Don't forget about Ichigo," Rei added, "he's a nice guy, too."

"A little too nice if you ask me," Mako muttered.

"I like him," she said defensively.

"You like everybody." Mako had a point.

"You just don't know how to say no," Rei sighed. "It's always been your problem. You should have just told Diamond you had a boyfriend, but you didn't because you're stupid."

"I know!" she cried because Rei was right. It was a stupid move. "But it's because me and Ichigo are, like, weird together… I don't really see us as a couple honestly." Mako rolled her eyes.

"You should probably tell him that some time."

"Speaking of Usagi's hook-ups," Rei said, turning their attention to the TV. "Look who it is."

It was Mamoru except, surprisingly, there was no woman at his side. He was with Jed and the footage they were viewing was being taken by paparazzi bombarding him as he walked down the sidewalk. Cameras were flashing and reporters were shooting question after question. "Were negotiations really that difficult to reach?" "Is it true that Soi-san no longer wanted to be affiliated with Chiba Incorporated?" "How does it feel knowing that despite the dispute being settled, they're still competing for your spot?"

Her phone rang and she jumped startled, but reached into her side to silence it without turning away from the screen. There was nothing more urgent than the two female correspondents currently relaying this _very_ important news: "After much negotiations, a CINC representative has confirmed that a compromise has been reached and that all parties involved are satisfied with the results." They went to footage of an older man talking to the press on a podium. "We are happy to announce that we were able to maintain our relationship with our foreign investors and will finally resume our business as usual."

The scene cut back to the female correspondents. They were skinny and fashionable and when they showed pictures of Mamoru in the background, they just looked at each other with grins. "What that means is that our handsome CEO is finally able to come back home." The other girl smiled next to her. "A cause for celebration, ladies. Even Chiba-san himself believes so."

The video of Mamoru and Jed was played again and this time is was clear that their destination was to a club. It was late out and near the marquee of the entrance, large bodyguards blocked the reporters from getting any closer. Jed and Mamoru disappeared inside without a single glance at the cameras.

"This was taken just last night right in front of the posh club, Lo, that we know he frequents in downtown Tokyo. That's right, you heard correct ladies. It's official. Chiba-san is back in town!"

She couldn't do anything more than stare at the TV despite the two women having moved on to their next segment. _Mamoru was back._

The shrill of her phone echoed throughout the room as she received another call, but neither Mako or Rei said anything. They understood. It was most likely Ichigo calling her anyway, probably to ask where she'd gone after school. Maybe even to question her about the rumors of her and Diamond being true. None of it mattered though. Not even a little bit.

Her and Ichigo were _so_ over.

* * *

***Motoki***

It has been about two weeks since he and Mamoru landed back in Tokyo and yet he still wasn't fully unpacked. Well, that was untrue. The twenty or so boxes neatly piled up across his apartment entrance weren't exactly his.

He still hadn't known exactly what had caused him to ask her to move in with him, but he felt that it had been the right time. He finally had been able take the next logical step, the one he had been afraid to make just a couple of months ago but that she had thankfully cured him of. He had been confused back then, utterly and completely, but she broke him free of that stale mindset. She, with all her persuasive abilities, had been able to make him see that this was where he needed to be. With her.

_Oh Cass_. He walked up and rubbed his girlfriend's shoulders soothingly, pushing aside her long brown hair. She turned around and smiled at him, her dark eyes shining. She was _never_ going to speak to him again after she learned about Reika.

"Babe, could we go to that restaurant again with the performers?" Reika asked. He nodded in respond at her request. Honestly, he was tired of going there but he'd do it for her.

"Let me get dressed," he said, heading off to shower and get ready.

Even though it was nearly 7 in the evening, he was still walking around in just his underwear. Lately, he'd been bumming around the house a lot and it was starting to become routine, but it's not like he had anything better to do.

Since he had gotten back a whole month into the school year, it had been too late to register, forcing him to wait for the following semester to take classes and thus prolonging his graduation for yet another six months. So that left his schedule wide open with a shit load of free time that he mostly just wasted on, guess what? Video games.

Whenever he didn't have a meeting, he would wake up late and have lunch with Reika until she had to leave for work. Then he would play video games until he got bored and then maybe go outside to pick up whatever house necessities Reika asked him to. He would wait until she got home to go out to dinner and then afterwards go visit those museums/operas/ballets/violin concerts that she loved dragging him to.

It had been quite a different pace, but he realized it wasn't all that bad. He'd never done those types of artistic events before and although some of them were boring as hell, there were a handful that he felt had actually expanded his mind. And it was those new experiences that he loved most about Reika.

No matter what she was doing, her eternal thirst for knowledge forced him to search for his own interests. Her passion was all about seeking answers, finding the truth, or at least coming as close to humanly possible using millions of pieces of painstakingly found evidence. She was an archaeologist, a history expert and constantly bombarding him with new facts. She sought wisdom, but what did _he_ wish to find in the world? He had no fucking clue, but he knew that Reika was here to help him figure that out. She had already taught him so much.

She made him realize that perhaps business management wasn't as worthy of his time as he'd originally thought. After he'd returned from his trip, he had only went back to check up on the arcade twice and gone not once to the parlor. How could he put this… he just didn't care about them anymore. He was planning on telling his parents that when they came to visit in a couple of weeks for their French holiday off, but it was not something he was looking forward to doing. They were not going to like the idea of hiring another full-time manager to look after the place, but he had already made up his mind. Hopefully they wouldn't be too mad at him.

He didn't know how to tell Mamoru all of this either, especially since they were also business partners. Mamoru would probably tell him that he would be wasting over 4 years of his life if he quit, but he doubted that he'd offer any solution other than 'suck it up and stick it out'. And since that was the last thing he wanted to do, he didn't want to hear anything Mamoru would have to say right now. Besides, their relationship wasn't the best at the moment so he wouldn't tell him until he had to.

Things between them had changed dramatically since he's been with Reika. In the beginning, they both overlooked it knowing that relationships tended to be obsessive in the beginning and couples hardly wanted to spend time away from each other. But it's been about three months since he and Mamoru had spent a single night out. They only saw each other at work and did not talk outside of the business environment. When they saw each other at the office they exchanged a few words _maybe_ depending on how their meetings had gone, but otherwise had very little contact.

He had this awful feeling that Mamoru didn't like Reika. At all. He knew deep down that Mamoru hated her; he could just feel it. It didn't matter how nice he appeared to be to her, whenever Reika and Mamoru were in the same room it was unbearably awkward. There would be so much tension between them that he wouldn't even know what to do with himself.

Which wasn't surprising since Reika didn't like Mamoru either. She thought he was a bad influence and although she explicitly didn't say to stay away from him, she hinted at it all the time. He liked to believe that he was a better friend than to listen to her, but the truth was that he wasn't. He had honestly been avoiding Mamoru altogether so that he could avoid getting into problems with Reika.

Since Mamoru's reputation as a womanizer extended far and wide, she was afraid that Mamoru would somehow _make_ him cheat on her. She was insecure obviously, but he understood that she wasn't all that far from the truth. Partying with Mamoru could get intense and he didn't mean like drinking heavy, crazy drugs intense. No, he meant that in the most sexually graphic way possible—and she knew that. Orgy type behavior at private clubs weren't all that uncommon and the last time he'd been in that kind of environment was the last time he'd hung out with Mamoru around mid-August—the night before he met Reika.

His relationship with Reika was a strain on their friendship for sure, but he'd slowly been able to accept it. Although they'd always been closer than friends, perhaps this was just a break that they needed. For so many years, they'd depended on each other and maybe now was the time for them to pave their own independent ways, mark their own paths. Everybody needed space to grow and relationships were always changing. Years ago he would not have believed it, thinking that he and Mamoru would be friends forever but now he knew the truth, and the truth always hurt.

* * *

***Mamoru***

His new apartment was taking some getting used to. It had so many more amenities than his last one and he still mistook rooms for closets. Still, the added privacy and security features were a welcome change and he wondered at times how he'd been able to survive so long without them.

His favorite so far was the security vault he had on the second floor the size of a standard bank's gold deposit. The vault was amazing because he was able to keep a decent amount of cash at home securely. The manufacturer guaranteed that in the event of a disaster, the enforcements around the safe ensured that even if his building went down in flames and burned for a week straight, his assets inside would remain intact and unaffected.

Then there was the helicopter landing-pad on his roof. It assured him the utmost privacy and speed—two things of which he was seriously lacking these days—when trying to leave and arrive home. Even his lobby had much stricter rules regarding entry and visitors. Not only would guests have to go through a sort of tagging system if they weren't with him when they arrived, but nobody besides him had access to his apartment on the premises.

The possibility that he would be screwed if he ever came home too drunk to remember the security codes did pass his mind before, but he doubted that it would ever come to that. When in a compromised state, he learned that it was always best to just stay at a hotel, especially when he was hooking up with random women. It made everything just so much easier. Not to mention, he didn't want to repeat any mistakes that were the reason why he had to move in the first place.

On the thought of unfavorable women, it was annoying him beyond measure that he was starting to see Reika in his offices every time Motoki was in the building. It was almost as if she would do it on purpose just so that they couldn't meet alone. That woman seriously had issues and he wondered when it would be that Motoki would finally realize it. So many times (especially since they'd arrived last month in Tokyo and he'd expected Motoki to dump her ass so he could get back to Cass), he'd just wanted to call him and invite him out, but he knew that Motoki wouldn't go with him if he was still with her. 'Couldn't' was a better word.

He'd come close a couple of weeks ago to telling Motoki to screw that bitch. He and Reika had been friendly to each other when they first met and he'd once even believed her decent, but it wasn't until they found each other alone without Motoki's company that he'd seen her true colors. He was on his way back to their hotel in Hong Kong when they'd bumped into each other on the elevator going up. She'd given him the dirtiest look and granted, the girl at his side was barely dressed and already fumbling with the buckle of his belt before the elevator door even closed. But it wasn't as if she'd seen the girl and was judging _her_. No, she'd only been looking at him the entire time as if he was the dirty one, a toxic that she (and Motoki) needed to stay far away from.

When they reached their floor, she pushed past them and went inside the apartment first and he remembered being furious with Motoki for giving her a key. Before he even reached the door with his 'date', Reika had already dragged Motoki out the apartment and was currently leading him away from them. Motoki hadn't noticed him in the distance, but he could hear Reika talk too loudly as they took the stairs, saying something about his living conditions being 'filthy'.

He'd wanted to yell at her and call her the types of names that were probably better suited to fit the girl at his side, but then said girl chose that very moment to live up to the stereotypes and started blowing him in the middle of the hallway. So what more could he really have done after that? Anyhow, after that day he couldn't even pretend to like Reika and slowly he and Motoki started talking less.

There were rare occasions abroad when they would be in the apartment together, but due to their conflicting schedules, aka Reika's interventions, it would be impossible if they even saw each other for breakfast. Sadly, this all still seemed to be true even back home and he knew now that there was probably nobody on the surface of this planet that he hated more than her.

He knew that a lot of people hated him and for good reason, but Reika? What the fuck had he ever done to her? Yet she still went at him, attacking. The worst of it all was that she had actually stolen from him the one thing that he cared about most.

His friendship with Motoki wasn't completely lost yet, but he knew it was reaching that point. He hoped Motoki would come to his senses soon because otherwise there was nothing he could do. He couldn't interfere without making it worse. There was no point in him telling Motoki that Reika sucked ass, it would only make him want to stay with her more. And he was in no rush to lose more than he already had.

He'd always believed that it would be Cass's job to snag Motoki away from him, but low and behold—Motoki had brought Reika back with him and totally forgot about the girl that he was actually in love with for the past couple of years. Mamoru would rather lose to Cass a million times over than to that stupid bitch Motoki found in Hong Kong.

In the back of his mind, he had always known that their friendship had to change when they eventually got into serious relationships, but he hadn't thought that would happen for years. It was scary thinking that he was losing his best friend to some random woman he didn't even like. He would have thought that Motoki would have at least cared for his approval. He would want the same from him.

Everything about Reika was mediocre, her face, her body, her attitude. But he knew Motoki long enough to know that being flashy was never his thing. He didn't like living his life as extravagantly as he could, not did he inherit the spontaneous streak from his parents. Motoki always liked to play it safe and Reika _was_ perfectly safe. On paper it might look like they were the perfect match, but he knew better even if Motoki didn't.

He hadn't bothered mentioning a lick of his situation to Cass even though he knew that she knew already. He dreaded the day that Motoki and Cass would ever bump into each other because although she refused to acknowledge what was happening, he could tell she was bitter about it.

Even the way Cass talked to _him_ had changed. She hadn't even bothered to invite him to the spa that she had worked so long and hard on despite him asking her continuously after he'd gotten back. Whenever he had his schedule free, she happened to be busy and would promise him another time, but he knew she was just blowing him off.

However, with it being a full month since his arrival, enough was enough. He had already dealt with her crappy attitude when she didn't even tell him about the grand opening even though he had been legally obligated to attend. So yesterday he had gotten ahold of the security company that covered the spa and showing them his contract, had managed to get the security codes himself and all spare keys to the facility. If Cass wanted to be difficult then she would have to deal with him going against her will. He had every right to inspect where his money went into.

The security company seemed to have tipped her off because this morning he had gotten a call from Cass's assistant saying that on Monday she was going to close the spa early so he could come check it out. He agreed to it because what was the use of him not to. Ultimately if he went with or without her it still all led to the same results anyhow. The whole point had been that he wanted her to show him around because it was something that he knew she was extremely proud of.

He understood that she had put so much work into it and he had the feeling that Cass thought he wasn't appreciative, but he was. Hopefully when they saw each other, she would let go of any hard feelings; she couldn't stay mad at him forever. There weren't a lot of women that could. And if he knew anything about Cass there was always a way to make it up to her.

Returning to his chores, he leaned over to the railing to grab the water basin and poured the remainder of the rain collection into the dry pot in front of him. The balcony was cheerfully bright despite the nasty weather outside, however there was this one plant in particular that looked wilted.

The vase of carnations had a few stems leaning a little too much to the left and a couple of the leaves were turning brown. Touching the unopened buds lightly with his pointer finger, the flower reacted immediately and opened its petals like an unraveling band. The leaves turned green again and the stem stood a little straighter. Who needed a gardener when they had his green thumb?

After studying his aura sensing, he'd tried to figure out what else he could use it for and had discovered this a few weeks ago. He realized that by pushing his own aura into living things, he could reenergize it. He should just call himself a magician since it seemed like he always had some new trick up his sleeve.

It seemed like a new ability, although it was quite possible that he'd always had this power since Tuxedo Kamen created roses out of nothing, so maybe this was just a form of what he'd been doing all along. Who knew. All he understood was that now he had one more thing to add onto the many gifts that made him more special than the average Joe—as if his list wasn't long enough.

* * *

Please review!

-CattyKitty


	3. Chapter 2 - Rules of Attraction

_CattyKitty_

Just a heads up, there will be more attention called to the senshi's romantic interests here than in _Seven Days_, but fret not; Usa and Mamo are—and will always be—the main focus of all my stories.

Enjoy :)

(Standard disclaimer: I do not own any of the Sailor Moon characters of which I am writing about. This story is an original that I wrote for fun and without compensation. All characters belong to Naoko Takeuchi.)

Two More Weeks

**Chapter 2**

**Rules of Attraction**

***Usagi***

They had been discussing Cass's boy toy, the foreman contractor that had been replacing the light fixtures for the past few days and who had also worked during the spa construction over the summer. He was a cutie with a body and even she had a habit of watching him work whenever things happened to be 'broken'.

"He'll do for now." Cass sipped on her midday cocktail while they waited for their nails to dry. "I need the distraction."

"You know," she said slowly, "about Motoki… how did that start?" Cass looked up.

"What do you mean?" Cass was on edge and she wondered if bringing him up was a good idea, but she just had to know.

"He's super sexy, but," she shrugged, "I would never think that he's your type."

"You assume that I only go after bad boys?" Cass asked going back to her magazine. She nodded.

"Current situation aside, Motoki is like one of the nicest guys. And you are _not_ nice." Cass shrugged coolly. "I'd think he'd be too wholesome for a party animal."

"If he really was a nice guy, we wouldn't be where we are." Cass's straightforward logic made her feel dumb. "Nice guys don't have one night stands, gangbangs, or do drugs. He hasn't even gotten his degree yet." Cass shuddered as if that was the worst of all. "If he was truly nice, he wouldn't be avoiding me."

"You're right. I can't really say I knew him," she amended, feeling stupid for bringing it up. "I've hung out with you more in these past two months than him in the three years I've known him, so who am I to say he's not just like Mamoru."

"He isn't." Cass said it so quickly that even she looked embarrassed and started flipping through her magazine again. "Not really. They're similar, but…" Mamoru was so much worse. "He always said he couldn't do the whole 'asshole thing'." Her emphasis made it clear she was quoting Motoki. "But isn't he a fast learner."

"They're all fucking idiots," she muttered. "Forget that loser." Cass gave her a weak smile.

"He _is_ good. I know he is and I'm not trying to defend him, but what can I say." Cass threw her magazine onto the table and picked up a strawberry from the tray in front of her. "He did ask me if I was okay with him leaving."

"What did you say?" It would make the situation 100x worse if Motoki had left even after she'd asked him not to. There was no forgiving him then.

"I told him I didn't care." Cass was observing the strawberry carefully, holding it by its stem and turning it around. "What did he expect me to say? I don't ask things like that."

"Maybe… he wanted you to ask." There was a long pause as her theory settled thickly.

"Maybe." Cass ripped away the top leaf and put it back on the plate. Neither of them spoke for a while.

Motoki's girlfriend had been officially confirmed this morning by Sapphire. Until today it had all been speculation, but now they had proof via actual sighting and the news had affected Cass more than she'd expected. Even though Cass's ever-changing interests would make her seem insusceptible to guy troubles, it was a different story when it came to Motoki.

When she'd seen Motoki and Cass together at Mamoru's estate last summer, they looked perfect. He was happy. He cared about her and she definitely cared, too. Whether that was still true for him or not was up in the air, but she could only hope that Cass would get over him soon. Motoki honestly wasn't worth it.

"Anyway, what you asked me, " Cass continued. "Why I like him." Usagi nodded. "When you meet him you think he's just another little punk because he gives off that 'nice boy' vibe, but he knows how to dominate me just the right way." She got this faraway look in her eyes. "Most other guys don't know what I really want, but he does… So that's the answer, I guess. Sex, duh." She shook her head to change the train of thoughts. "Do you trust me?"

"Yes…" she answered slowly, wondering where she was going with this.

"When we met in Shimoda, I didn't really get to know you. I didn't think I was going to see you again in all honesty. You were just another girl that was messing around with Mamoru, possibly Motoki too; I didn't know at the time." She grabbed another strawberry. "I didn't invite you to the spa opening when we bumped into each other because I liked you—I didn't _dislike_ you, I just didn't care—it was only to get back at Mamoru."

"What do you mean?" she asked, not following.

"I was mad at him because I felt like he took Motoki away from me." Cass plucked the stem and took a small bite. "I know it's petty, but that's how I felt. I thought that seeing you at the spa would piss him off."

She nodded in understanding. Since Cass had thought she was one of Mamoru's typical girls, bringing one of his trashy toys to an important event would annoy him into insanity. It was perfect logic.

"In the end, I didn't tell him about the grand opening so I guess that backfired." She looked up at her. "But we're friends now so I'm glad it happened that way. I just thought you should know and hope you're not mad at me. I don't want you thinking that I faked our fabulous friendship in any way. I actually like you."

"It's fine. I'm not really mad," she said. How could she be when Cass had just been honest with her? Besides she was right, they were friends now. "I forgive you for thinking I was a whore."

"Not that I think of you that way anymore," Cass clarified. "I know now that you were a pathetic virgin who was helplessly swooped up. You didn't stand a chance against Mamoru." She rolled her eyes. "Not that I blame you. Mamoru's… interesting."

"Shut up."

"Luckily with me, you've met plenty of cooler guys than him. You won't have to get caught up in _that_ disaster ever again," Cass said, going back to choosing another perfectly plump strawberry, mumbling something about Mamoru being an asshole. "You got Ichigo anyway. He's so _cute_." The way she said cute was enough to make her cringe. She didn't want a cute boy, she wanted a hot man and there was a difference. It was called Ichigo and Mamoru.

"I guess."

"I'm going to pretend that I didn't hear that." Cass gave her a serious look. "Ichigo's sweet." It was her turn to look away.

"I know he is." She felt as if she had to defend herself. "And I like him." She wasn't lying because otherwise how could she explain the fact that she hadn't actually broken up with him yet? Cass rolled her eyes.

"Don't say it for my benefit."

"I'm not! I _do_ like him!" Cass gave her another dubious look.

"We both have guy problems, don't we?" Cass stood up, blowing on her nails one last time before grabbing her jacket. "Let's go shopping. This is getting depressing."

"Yes!" Whatever it took to get her mind off of Motoki and this conversation about Ichigo, she would do it. "Some retail therapy, please!" As far as she was concerned, there was nothing that a new pair of shoes couldn't cure.

* * *

***Mamoru* **

Not more than a few seconds had gone by since he'd arrived at Hino Takahiro's fundraiser and contributors were already approaching him. Although they'd never met, Hino had invited him here because he wanted his public support. He couldn't care less about Hino Takahiro and was just here because Jed asked him. It wasn't on the top of his priorities by any means, but he didn't have a good enough reason not to attend. Besides, he had nothing important scheduled so there would be no way for him to save face for when the media decided to question his absence since Hino had made sure to make his invitation a very known one.

It was almost as if this entire event had been orchestrated as an ambush for his support. There was press everywhere, flashing cameras going of every other second with people posing for pictures left and right. All of it was highly unusual since these things were intended to be more private, an intimate setting where you were supposed to convince people why it was a good idea to give you money.

However this entire party (which what it mostly resembled with every waiter serving outstanding amounts of champagne) seemed a bit sketchy and it appeared that all the press came straight for him instead of the councilman. Already he'd been asked three times why he supported Hino and on the fourth time, he'd simply answered, "He's a good man," just to get them off his back. And it had worked.

He didn't think twice about it since his mere presence at the fundraiser implied that he was backing him anyway. The reporter quickly pulled out his notepad and scribbled furiously. Although he'd only said a few words, the man had clearly found a way to decorate his short statement. Not surprising since these newspapers tended to go with catchy headlines and he'd given him a good one.

Ignoring his possible flub (he really should have gone over this Hino endorsement with Kunzite beforehand), he and Jed used the opportunity to escape the crowd. They kept walking past people until they ended up in a long empty hallway somewhere upstairs after following one of the help through a back door.

"These things are the worst." He and Jed leaned on opposite walls facing each other.

"You're the one that dragged me here," he sighed, loosening his tie. He was fed up with the way he'd been bombarded all night. "I can't believe you're making me do this shit for a girl that's already dating someone."

He could be home sleeping instead of being forced to make polite chatter with complete strangers—as if he didn't already have to this on a daily basis. Besides, Motoki had told him a long time ago that Chad and Rei had been fooling around, so why was Jed trying this hard? As far as he was concerned, they'd only met once—unless they'd happened to hit it off these past few weeks since her father's campaign and were secret lovers, but he doubted it.

"First of all, I asked you to come and you said yes. Secondly, fuck off."

"Do you even care about what this guy's planning once he takes office? Or are you just blindly trying to win his daughter?" Jed continued to pretend to ignore him. "Rei's only a teenager, not even eighteen. She's not worth all this shit."

"If you're worried about whether Kunzite approved, you can relax because I've already spoken to him about this. But let's be clear about one thing." Jed was on edge. "I don't ever give you advice on how you should behave with women so I definitely don't want to hear anything from you. You can either shut up and help me out or get the fuck out of my face."

He could tell that it was one of those guy moments where he needed to back off or else deal with physical violence. Clearly he'd pissed Jed off and even though he knew that this entire thing was silly, it was true that Jed never meddled in his affairs so he at least owed him that.

"Where is this guy at so I can take a picture with him and leave already." He pushed himself off the wall and was about to head back down the stairs when Takahiro came from the same direction toward them. Talk about perfect timing.

"Chiba-san, Sato-san."

"Hino-san," he and Jed chorused, bowing their heads.

"Just the men I've been looking for. Come." He waved his hand over to a cameraman behind him and put his two glasses of champagne down on the floor. Grabbing him for a handshake, Hino quickly forced him into a photo op and he had no choice but to smile. "Great. Thanks," Hino said, shooing the cameraman away back down the stairs.

Hino picked up the two cups and instead of handing them over to them as he'd expected, Hino gulped one down in a single swallow followed quickly by the other. And this was the guy that was supposed to be running for public office.

"I hear that you're good friends with my daughter," Takahiro said putting an arm around his shoulder and squeezing. He politely shrugged him off.

"We've been acquaintances for a few years," he corrected.

"Then you would know," Hino started, "that my daughter doesn't love me." He didn't answer, wondering why in all the world he would start a conversation like this. "She still holds a grudge against me for abandoning her when she was young." He swirled his empty cup and brought it back to his lips.

"I'm sure that's not true…" This was so awkward. He looked over to Jed hoping he would rescue him but he was purposely not meeting his stare.

"No, it's completely true," Hino said nonchalantly. "It's partially my fault, I understand, but one would think that she could learn to forgive eventually. She's more similar to me than she realizes." He had no idea how to respond to that so he just waited for him to shut up. "When I heard my wife was pregnant, I knew I wasn't ready to be a father, but she told me that everything would be alright; together we could do it. We were going to have the most talented son on the planet and he would be just like me."

He stole a glance at Jed, who looked much more calm about this conversation than he probably did. Since he'd been around him all these months, Jed probably heard this story before. This was their first time meeting however, so how did he expect his support by telling him this stuff? This was just too much information.

"But when Rei was born, she killed her mother in the process." Both he and Jed flinched at his word choice. Well there lay the reason why Rei probably hated him. "It was devastating losing my wife. And what was worse, she left me by myself even when she promised that we would raise our son together. I left her with her grandfather and Rei's never forgiven me for it. I try to be in her life now—I know the mistakes I've made—but it's not enough for her."

He wanted to ask so badly: "Why are you telling me this? What does that have to do with me?" but he kept quiet and attempted to nod in solemn understanding. This guy had to be drunk because there was no other reasonable explanation. This was some sad shit. Part of him felt bad, but leaving your child was absolutely inexcusable and Rei had every right to be mad at him.

"I know she doesn't need me anymore," Hino sighed, "but someone has to take care of her. Since she won't let me and I'm not going to be around forever, I need someone ambitious, yet reliable." Mamoru coughed uncomfortably—so _that_ was what this was all about… Goddammit. Knowing that there was no right way of telling him to 'go fuck himself' for thinking that he would for _any_ reason agree to be with Rei, he took a moment to compose himself to figure out how he could word it more politely.

In a surprise turn of events before he was able to open his mouth, Hino shifted away from him and instead looked to Jed awaiting _his_ answer. He was sure the shock was evident in his face. What the hell was going on?

Even more surprisingly, Jed nodded his head once, just slightly, but it was enough for Hino whose tensed shoulders slumped in relief. This entire exchange had him completely confused. Was Hino giving Jed his _blessing_? To _marry_ Rei? His mind was literally being blown. And what was he supposed to be here for? As a _witness_ to this pact?

"Hino-san," a young woman with a clipboard called from down the hall and he'd never been happier for a distraction. "Your daughter's arrived." The expression on Hino's face actually reflected some kind of glee at the news. "Should I send her up?"

"No, no. I'll be right there." He looked for them to follow him and they made their way back towards the party downstairs.

"What just happened?" he whispered to Jed as the heavy crowd descending upon the councilman assured that they wouldn't be heard. "Is he insane or what?"

"He's drunk," Jed insisted.

An increased sound of cameras clicking distracted their conversation and they both turned to the noise. Out from the parting crowd emerged a rather distressed Rei. She wore a beautiful red strapless gown with a short trail (and crowd) dragging behind her. The room was even louder than before in whispers and they all stopped and stared as she made her way toward them.

"Rei, sweetie." Rei stiffly walked into her father's arms and embraced him. When they finished their hug, he held onto her waist and boasted into the crowd, "Isn't my daughter absolutely gorgeous?"

There was no way to deny the claim and cameras continued to snap photos of the father-daughter duo. Despite Rei's forced smile, she looked indeed gorgeous with her hair pined up and thick onyx necklace contrasting her pale skin. She commanded all attention in the room.

After a few more minutes of pictures and questions (that she did surprisingly well answering), her father whispered in her ear and they both looked over towards him and Jed. She pursed her lips, but nodded and walked over to Jed without even acknowledging that he was standing there.

"We're not friends so don't you dare try to talk to me," Rei muttered through her teeth as her mouth was curved into a pleasant smile. He wasn't sure who exactly she was talking to but assumed that it was meant for the both of them. "Why are you even here?" A photographer moved in on them to get a picture and Rei quickly laughed and smacked her hand lightly on Jed's shoulder. "You're so hysterical! It was great catching up with you. I'm so glad you were able to make it."

She was able to quickly saunter away before the picture was taken and even ignored the few people that tried to pull her over in conversation. Jed cursed under his breath and moved in the opposite direction from her to the other side of the ballroom. He stood alone for a moment not sure what to do but quickly decided to follow Jed, refusing to stay in the hounding crowd alone.

"Well, wasn't that a blooming romance," he commented after catching up to Jed. Jed ignored him and continued with great haste through the house, twisting and turning into room after room.

"If it were up to her father, we'd be married," Jed muttered. "But that bitch never listens to anyone."

"You must like it that way," he countered. "Considering how hard you're chasing her."

"Mmhm."

"I thought that was just a joke. You make it seem like you want to." Jed had to be kidding. "No matter how much he'll pay you, please tell me you're not going to marry her."

"I'm not," Jed clipped. "Obviously. I just meant that he really likes me. It's incredibly difficult not to, I'm young and successful. Not to mention a saint compared to you."

"Have people follow you around all day and you'll realize how easily your dirty laundry becomes public knowledge." He wasn't any better or worse than any other person, but the media loved to sensationalize him. "Anyway, Rei can't stand you so that's that." He found it quite amazing indeed that Jed literally had Rei's father in his pocket and yet Rei hated him. It was the complete opposite of how things usually happened—and was 100% hilarious.

"Yeah well, that's the way it is. For now."

"I can't say that I see anything working out for you in the future. But then again you were always delusional." Part of being a guy was laughing at the failed attempts of your friends trying to hook up with women. Those were the laughs that came deep from your belly and made you giggle every time you recalled the memory. Truly the best of times.

"You'll see, she'll be eating out of my hand in no time at all." They both laughed because the absurdity of it was that Jed was probably never going to get Rei. But what was a man if he didn't try?

"We'll see about that."

"Did you know that Zoi is with Mizuno girl?" Jed asked completely off topic as they continued to navigate their way through long hallways. Not only was Jed's question completely random, but the shock of what he was saying left his mouth agape. Ami and Zoi? And he thought he'd heard enough crazy talk for one night.

Ami was his favorite of all of Usagi's friends. She was smart, relatively quiet and most importantly respectable: Zoi was none of the above except for ingenious. He had a snarky attitude and could be downright immature and so the idea of him somehow being compatible with Ami was incomprehensible. They were total opposites.

"You're lying." Was his only response since there was no way it could be true.

"It's true. However unlikely it might seem," Jed turned back to stare at him, "they're together. Doesn't that make so many other things seem possible?"

"Your optimism is disgusting me." In all seriousness, he'd never seen Jed more determined in his life, but hey; men did stupid shit for women all the time. Anything was possible he supposed.

"Sometimes you want the struggle," Jed smirked. "It makes it all the more interesting. Now that may be a difficult concept for a pampered prince, such as yourself, but not everything in life comes all by itself."

He didn't bother answering Jed because it was obvious logic. Only things that one truly cared about did one ever bother fighting for. Unfortunately for him, there was only a very limited amount of things in his life in which that applied to. Thankfully, those sentiments were not something that he currently needed to concern himself with. Life was long after all and he was just another bachelor with a million more women he had yet to meet. He was in no rush to get into something serious.

They finally came to a stop at the end of a long hallway in front of a large room overlooking the back gardens. Jed knocked on the already opened double doors before stepping in. There were racks of clothes blocking the windows and shoes and makeup thrown everywhere, all a clear indication of a woman getting ready. As he followed Jed in, he saw Rei sitting on a vanity wiping her lipstick off. She didn't bother turning around.

"Go away."

"You're supposed to be out there longer than that."

"Nope, I'm perfectly fine staying here," Rei replied.

He made his way to the nearest seat and leaned his head back. Meeting people was exhausting, but Rei hadn't been out there for more than 10 minutes. There was no reason for her to be complaining.

"He's right you know," he said and Rei finally looked at him. "You're making your father look bad." Rei stopped what she was doing and turned her chair all the way around so that she could face him.

"Oh I see," Rei snarled. "Are you my coach now? Since you're the expert on public appearances after all."

"Just put your shoes on and go back out there," Jed sighed. "Play your part. Help your father win."

"What's it you if he wins?" she asked Jed. "What's your benefit because you seem awfully intent on helping him out." Her question tickled his curiosity as well; he also had a feeling that there was more that Jed wasn't telling him.

"Nothing," Jed replied, "I get nothing at all. It's just politics, baby."

"Right. Sure it is." Rei moved back to face herself in the mirror. "You two can go. I'm not in the mood to talk to anybody right now."

"You should cover that up," Jed stood behind her chair and ran his finger along her bare spine, following over her tattoo. Rei flinched as if burned and stood up quickly.

"Don't fucking touch me!" Jed retracted his hand laughing.

"Whatever you say."

"Rei!" They all turned their attention to the doorway where her father was staring at them. "What are you doing? Come back."

"I'm done. We took pictures already, I'm going home." Takahiro stared at her as if she was an alien.

"There was no point of you coming here if you're only going to show your face for two seconds. Just do what I say!" Rei continued to ignore him, removing her necklace and setting it down on the table. Taking the pins out of her hair one by one, Takahiro panicked as he realized she wasn't kidding and yelled at Jed. "_Do something_!"

Rei finally faced her father to stare in loathing and even he had to do the same. Hino clearly had no idea what to with Rei. To tell Jed to do something as if Rei was _his_ responsibility to deal with… Jed took a step away from Rei instead and addressed Takahiro calmly.

"We should go back out," Jed said glancing at his watch. "Higurashi will get here in less than five minutes." Takahiro straightened and nodded at once.

"You're right. I'm wasting my time here." Takahiro turned in a near military style about-face and waited for Jed to stand behind him. "Let's go, _son_."

The room was quiet as Mamoru got up to follow the men to their awaiting guests, leaving behind Rei and the sounds of distressed crows hollering in the distance. There had never been a time like this in his life where he was so glad that he didn't have parents.

* * *

-CattyKitty


	4. Chapter 3 - Binding Duties

_CattyKitty_

_CattyKitty_

Merry Christmas Eve everyone! Hope you're all in a jolly mood—I know I definitely have the holiday spirits! I've been wearing my reindeer antlers all morning!

For those of you that are frustrated at the slow pace in which the story is unfolding, well… I don't know what to say except 1) I agree—it's frustrating that the main couple have not met yet and 2) that's just the way this story begins.

I get it that perhaps I haven't moved along the story fast enough, but that is exactly why I'm updating as frequently as I am. I just wanted to establish the Usa/Ichi relationship, Mamo/Motoki, Motoki/Reika, etc., but I understand how the waiting could be annoying.

And FYI, the reason why Mamoru hasn't mentioned Usagi is because, believe it or not, _he hasn't thought about her_. And considering his character, it's not that hard to understand why. He's just that type of guy.

Also… everything I do is purposeful. Everything. If a character seems like they're a certain way, then that's because it's their personality, which is the reason why I did the alternating POVs—to show the world as they see it, their opinions on matters. Mamoru for example, as it has been brought up by countless reviewers, seems misogynistic. I do not disagree with that. However, his thoughts are not necessarily mine; I'm just trying to develop the characters.

But thank you femmin for your insightful review and everyone else (from all three stories) that is just trying to watch out for Usagi. We hope she takes all of your advice and does right by women everywhere—just don't forget that things aren't always so black and white, and we all make mistakes even with the best intentions in mind.

With that said, that you all so much for your comments and as always, your thoughtful feedback is highly appreciated.

So without further ado...

(Standard disclaimer: I do not own any of the Sailor Moon characters of which I am writing about. This story is an original that I wrote for fun and without compensation. All characters belong to Naoko Takeuchi.)

Two More Weeks

**Chapter 3**

**Binding Duties**

***Motoki***

Many would say that it was a privilege to be where he was. He was sitting in a meeting with the top executives of Chiba Inc., where others would love to be in his position, and yet every time he closed his eyes he imagined being anywhere else. Mamoru had made him a permanent visitor to these gatherings for the sole purpose of gaining valuable experience and while he appreciated the honor, he wasn't feeling so lucky now.

He didn't want to keep attending, but knew it would be disrespectful if he stopped showing up. These were the only times he Mamoru saw each other lately and while it was in a limited setting, it was better than not at all. However, the way things were going right now he wished he had bailed. Not only was it tiresome, but the arguing had been going on for so long that he was ready to jump out the window if it meant he could escape. Everyone at the table landed somewhere in the spectrum between angry and murderous with no exceptions and he prayed to every god for it to be over soon.

Beside him Kunzite appeared calm, but the agitated shaking of his leg under the table said otherwise. Next to Kunzite at the head of the table Mamoru sat cross-armed, leaning back seemingly unperturbed. It amazed him at how Mamoru remained outwardly unfazed despite the hostility he was receiving, especially since he was probably the angriest of all. Still, Mamoru kept up the front and appeared helplessly bored, occasionally motioning with his hand to speed up the present speaker.

"…been proven to successfully mollify the workers; it's reckless to stop now. And then to give them additional benefits on top of that? Ridiculous."

Wiseman, the main enemy and Mamoru's number one opponent, was able to gather the collective sounds of affirmation of the men around him. The ex-CEO was still butthurt at having his title taken by Mamoru and if they thought he had it out for him before it was even crazier now. The side of which Wiseman sat on (and had full support from) consisted of a completely different generation of men with some old enough to be his grandfather and whose differences in ideas were as vast as their ages. All of the old men gave Mamoru disapproving frowns as Wiseman's confident posture further relaxed at the backing. Before Mamoru was able to address him another spoke up.

"You're missing the point. That budget is completely separate and you are being petty." Diamond's input made the men sitting closest to him groan in annoyance. Kunzite let out a deep breath. "The key concern is as Chiba-san stated earlier. That's where our main focus of discussion should be. Move on."

Although Diamond sat with the wrong side and tended to represent the same group as Wiseman, he was the smidge of gray at the contrasting table. Diamond was the only young and sane member that sometimes sided with the oldies and that contradiction was the reason for why they were often weary of him. One could never predict whom he would support because Wiseman was his uncle and a bond like that was heard to break. If it weren't for that relation, he was positive Diamond would be more reliably on their side since he often saw eye-to-eye with Mamoru on important matters.

Which was why Mamoru had left Diamond in charge over the summer when he was gone. Despite their low agreement rate, Mamoru and Diamond still got along dramatically better (business and otherwise) than anyone else on the opposing side of the table. Diamond was still young and way more relatable than the other croons that still had chairs, and while he shared many of his uncle's views, he often balanced them to make them bearable. Diamond was the lesser of the evils and no one else at this level was even a contender to represent the company—even temporarily (only Kunzite of course, but he had been away with Mamoru).

He made brief eye contact with Mamoru and his agony must have been obvious because Mamoru shuffled his papers together and capped his pen.

"I agree, but we'll have to discuss that next week. We're done for now." Mamoru stood up, effectively ending the meeting.

"How can we be done?" One of the gentlemen sitting a few seats from him slammed his hand on the table to get Mamoru's attention. No one else moved. "Nothing was resolved!"

"I'm busy," was Mamoru's only response, ignoring the man's cry of outrage. His folder was already tucked under his arms ready to exit. Wiseman calmed the man and spoke up in support.

"This is something that we have to figure out now," Wiseman insisted. "Nothing is more important." At Diamond's request to let it go, he escalated to a standing position and waging finger. "We are losing money. In the last quarter profits stagnated and I don't see it as a coincidence." He was staring at Mamoru with scorn, his accusations nothing unheard before. "A systematic cleaning is necessary to raise efficiency. Consolidate positions. Hire more interns. You need to do _something_."

Heat radiated off of Kunzite in waves and he almost imaged him picking up Wiseman's frail and hunched body and breaking it over his knee. Kunzite was close to opening his mouth to respond, but his fear of undermining Mamoru kept him silent.

"As if I'm doing nothing!"

The animal came out of Mamoru so unexpectedly that half the table, including himself, jumped, and if it weren't for the room being soundproof, the rest of the city would have jumped back, too.

Though the reaction seemed a bit unwarranted, the worst part was that these outbursts had become routine. Mamoru had dealt with similar attitudes for over a year already, but since they'd returned it'd gotten much worse. There was so much pressure on him to perform and not only was it tough trying to meet expectations, but he'd grown much more sensitive to the critique.

His dear friend had inherited a responsibility that was nearly impossible to manage and Mamoru was struggling to hold on. Anyone that knew him would believe that Mamoru was born for this position. He was already authoritative by nature, but unbelievably that didn't exactly translate here. Mamoru was still very insecure in his position in the company and the fact that these loonies could get such a rise out of him was proof.

"You're still a punk boy. You have no clue about how things run around here."

The few that were seated echoed the disapproval, calling Mamoru a child and none of it in whispers. That was the thing about old people; they didn't care. They said shit to his face with no remorse. Which was why it wasn't surprising when Mamoru left the conference room like a raging ape, the 6-inch thick doors pushed with so much force that they actually hit the wall behind them.

"You have to talk to him." Kunzite had waited until most of the people had cleared out the room before standing to exit as well. He followed suit.

"Reika's waiting for me." It was a bad excuse, but at least it was the truth.

"Another time then."

He nodded, guilty at his presumed promise.

"Yeah. Another time."

* * *

***Usagi***

The CINC building was impressively tall and towered its surrounding neighbors by at least 10 stories. The exterior was a modern clean architecture nearly entirely comprised of glass and even the sidewalk seemed to sparkle brighter around it. It was sleek and chic, but the cool front quickly started to psyche her out. The commanding, yet elegant aura reminded her too much of a certain someone; it was practically Mamoru in edifice form!

She pushed those jittery thoughts aside. This was not the time for her to start chickening out. She had two missions coming into this building: _finding_ Motoki and _avoiding_ Mamoru—that was it (despite the tiny part of her wanting to catch a glimpse of him). She hoped lady luck was with her today as she took a deep breath and walked into the building lobby. She could do this!

Her anxiety increased as she pushed through the incredibly heavy revolving doors only to find a blockade of half a dozen armed guards. Surprised that she actually had to go through security to get inside the building, she patiently stood on a relatively short line to have her purse checked and pass through metal detectors. These were just the beginning trials of her journey, but she forced herself to cheer up and keep going. This was all in the name of friendship.

As the day had progressed yesterday, it became obvious that news of Motoki's girlfriend weighed Cass down. It was equipped with the knowledge of Cass's daunting state that she'd come to her logical conclusion, which had brought her here. Cass would not be able to move on until she got things cleared up with Motoki. She came today to speak with Motoki to convince him to talk to Cass so that she could finally get the closure that she needed. Hopefully she could give Motoki the message quickly and not have to bump into anyone, especially Mamoru. She knew the risk she was taking by coming into _his _office building, but she had to do this for Cass. It was her moral obligation as a friend.

She followed the directions that Zoi had given her over the phone after she'd called Ami last night for help. Going over the instructions carefully, she made a right as soon as she got off the elevator on the last floor, the 53rd floor. On the wall there was a sign that read 'Communications' just as Zoi mentioned and she followed the arrows that lead her to a spacious waiting area with a woman at a reception desk in the center. The woman looked up at her and smiled politely.

"How can I help you?" she asked.

"I'm here to meet with uhh, Zoi-san," she fumbled embarrassed as she realized she didn't remember his last name.

The woman nodded, picking up her phone and called _Fujji-_san to let him know that she had arrived before hanging up and asking her to follow. She led her into the hallway behind her and they passed yet another waiting room before reaching his office door. It was open and she walked in cautiously after he called her in.

"Tsukino-san," he welcomed her and she smiled.

"Hello," she bowed her head politely. They'd only hung out once before and weren't all that familiar with each other so she wanted to be respectful. "Thank you for helping me."

"It's not a problem at all," he smiled. "Furuhata should still be in the meeting but I know that they're coming out soon." He grabbed a handful of colorful gumdrops from a glass plate on his desk and proceeded to shove them all in his mouth at once.

He'd been Ami's boyfriend for a while now even though Ami had let it slip to them only last week. Max had told Mako and she'd blurted it all out a couple of weeks back but made them promise not to say anything. It had been a surprise to all of them, the last thing they expected from her especially since she had been so stressed out over college that she claimed to not have enough time for anything.

It seemed that Zoi was really good at letting loose all of Ami's _scholarly stress_ because apparently Ami had a few nights to spare. Just after midnight last night, she'd called Ami's home phone by mistake only to be redirected by her irritated mother. According to her, Ami hadn't slept at home the entire week. Surprised at the news, she called Ami's cell but didn't mention speaking to her mother. It was clear by the end of the conversation however, that Ami had no qualm in admitting where she was and had readily passed the phone over to Zoi so that he could direct her through the CINC building after hearing her plan.

It was interesting to her that Ami was with this guy. His long, wild ponytail and foxy features gave him a playful aura that was not what she'd thought Ami was into. He seemed a little spontaneous for her. His tie was hanging behind his chair, beaded bracelets stacked on his wrists and he had tattoos on both his arms where his sleeves were rolled up. Perhaps the saying held true after all; maybe opposites did attract. Cass and Ami certainly seemed to believe it.

After offering her some of his candy—which she graciously declined—Zoi led her to a private elevator opposite of where she came in from and it went up an additional twelve floors higher than the other one. They stood in a comfortable silence while she contemplated exactly how she was going to approach the subject of Cass to Motoki. What if he didn't care at all and she'd just wasted her time by coming? She seriously hoped that she could convince him to at least clear the air with Cass; he owed her at least that much.

They got off on the actual the last floor, the 65th and she looked around her in awe. The whole outer walls were floor-to-ceiling windows and she could see the beautiful panorama view of the city below them. The sight was so breathtaking that she barely noticed when they reached the end of the hall and stood in front of large oak doors.

"They should be done any minute. I'll wait with you if you want," Zoi offered and she nodded gratefully. There was no way she could stay here all by herself while the most influential people in the company walked out of those important doors. "Want something to eat?"

She turned to what he was referring to and saw that there was a table set up with muffins, sushi, tea and even coffee. Unfortunately, she so was nervous that she couldn't even be tempted to eat the delicious looking chocolate chip cookies they had on a display. She had a feeling that she was about to see Mamoru for the first time in over _five months_. Considering their last encounter, she had no idea how they were supposed to behave and when she heard the doorknob jiggle, she slunk behind Zoi.

The door burst open and she peeked nervously over his shoulder to see—the one and only—Mamoru, storm out the room first, angrily striding right past them down the hall without even noticing them. She felt all of the nervous energy drain from her so quickly that she actually felt a little weak. She couldn't believe her luck. He'd been staring straight ahead and didn't even look around him to notice her. She took a deep breath. Now all she had to do was find Motoki.

The crowd was densely packed although there weren't more than twenty men. She scanned carefully and her heart sank as she noticed Diamond. Goddammit, she'd forgotten all about him. Ducking behind Zoi once again she prayed that he hadn't seen her and waited until he went in the elevator to move again. Apologizing to Zoi for handling him like stage curtain, he finally pointed out Motoki as he exited last with Kunzite.

The scowl came involuntarily as she walked over to them. She didn't really hate Kunzite, but he was part of the reason why she and Mina weren't friends anymore. The last time she'd exchanged words with him was the day that she ate lunch with him and Mamoru back in June and even then it had been awkward. Ever since then, she wasn't sure on what grounds they currently stood, but wished that they'd stay distant.

"Furuhata-san, Kaku-san," she greeted as respectfully she could considering there were a few stragglers. Both men looked at her in utter surprise.

"Usagi-chan!" Motoki exclaimed, a huge smile slowly spreading across his face. She almost cried at the overwhelming feeling of hearing him call her that. It had also been five months since she'd seen him and she was so happy that he was still endearing her name. She refrained from hugging him, not knowing exactly what the consequences might be in the formal setting and just smiled goofily back. His situation with Cass aside, he'd always been a good friend to her and she hadn't realized just how much she had missed him.

"Tsukino," Kunzite addressed her and she found it incredibly strange that he actually looked glad to see her. "Do you have a few minutes? Could you could meet me on the 63rd floor when you two are done talking?" She nodded at his request, wondering what on Earth he could possibly want to talk to her about, but she didn't think much more about it as he left. She followed Motoki back into the meeting room they'd just exited, which was completely empty now. She hugged Motoki tightly once they were inside.

"It's so good to see you! What are you doing here?" he asked after she took the seat right next to him.

She didn't speak right away and thought carefully about what to say. She didn't want to go straight into the subject of Cass, especially since seeing him in person brought up many more different feelings than she'd anticipated. It was just so good to finally see him again and she hadn't counted on being this excited. She honestly wished that she didn't have to bring up Cass at all and could just catch up on what was going on in their lives. It's been so long and it was like reuniting with her cool older brother. She just wanted to hold a casual conversation and gossip.

"I came to yell at you for not letting me know that you were back," she finally answered, crossing her arms in fake anger, but he had the decency to look embarrassed.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean for it to get you angry." She waited for him to continue, but he offered no other explanation.

"So that's it?" She was that he wouldn't even give her an excuse. "There's no good explanation why?" Motoki exhaled loudly as if she was annoying him with stupid questions, but looked at her apologetically.

"I'm sorry," he leaned back on his chair, "but I've been really busy." She took in a deep breath to relieve the irritation of his pathetic answer. "So, how was your summer?" he asked and as much as she reallywanted to talk about their vacations, she couldn't let him off the hook so easily.

"Does this have to do because of what happened between me and Mamoru?" she asked just to be clear. Although she doubted it, maybe Motoki felt awkward about his position in this considering they were both his friends. When she saw his guilty expression, it confirmed her suspicions and it made her wish that she hadn't asked in the first place.

But then it made her wonder if Mamoru had _asked _Motoki not to talk to her anymore. What if they both weren't talking to her anymore because they thought she was easy now that she'd slept with one of them? She knew that the color had to have drained from her face from the concerned look Motoki was giving her, but she couldn't speak due to the large lump that had formed in the back of her throat. How had she not thought of that before?

"Are you ok, Usagi-chan?" Motoki asked leaning closer. "What happened?"

"I thought we were better friends than that…" she whimpered while he tried prying her hands away from her face.

"Of course we are! What are you talking about?" Motoki pulled her out of her seat into a hug and apologized, repeating how he hadn't meant to hurt her feelings. "I'm sorry that I hadn't tried to contact you, it's just that I've been really busy. I'm sorry. It has nothing to do with anything else, I swear." She nodded, hearing the sincerity in his words and feeling better at his reassurance.

He sounded perfectly reasonable. Why was she over-reacting and jumping to horrible conclusions? Was she really insecure about their friendship? No, she knew this wasn't about Motoki at all… She took a deep breath. She really needed to calm down, she was getting emotional for no reason. Motoki wasn't like that; she didn't even think Mamoru would do that to her. She let go of Motoki and composed herself as best she could, feeling incredibly lucky that she'd held her composure.

She couldn't forget that she was here for a reason and she had to set aside her current line of thoughts for another time. What if Mamoru was still around and she managed to bump into him on his way to lunch or something? As much as she wanted to see him, half of her was still deathly afraid. She had to say what she needed to say and get out of there fast.

"I know that you have a girlfriend, Motoki." He moved away. "But I think that you need to clear things up with Cass soon." Motoki completely retracted from her now, giving her a confused look.

"What?" he asked dumbly and she sighed. She didn't feel like explaining how she and Cass had become friends.

"Cass, you know the girl you left to go _gallivanting_ with Mamoru over the summer? That one. You need to talk to her about why you dumped her and then didn't even have the decency to tell her when you got back." Motoki was silent for a moment, trying to absorb as many things that were odd about this conversation as he could.

"Cass and I were never together…" he said slowly and she just wanted to smack him for making things difficult.

"That still doesn't justify what you did. And you have the nerve to come back with a girlfriend! What's wrong with you? I thought that you were better than that." Motoki just touched his temple soothingly as if trying to calm a migraine.

"I don't think that it's a good idea to go talk to her," he said finally. Why was he being so _stubborn_?

"Look, she'd probably kill me if she knew I was telling you this," she started, feeling bad for going against Cass's trust. "But she can't move on because she's not sure if you'll come back." Although Cass had never said any of this explicitly, it was more than implied.

The pained expression on Motoki's face was more than satisfying and it reminded her that she was doing the right thing. Clearly he still cared about Cass, but probably saw her as someone he could always fall back on when he wasn't with anyone else. Well she knew better than _anybody_ that Cass was crazy in love with Motoki and wanted more from him than the fleeting fling he'd selfishly offered. She was _not_ going to let Cass get the short end of the stick. If Motoki really wanted her he had to act _now_. Cass would not be waiting around for him forever. She would make sure of that.

"All you have to do is tell her is that whatever it was, it's definitely over between the two of you. That's all. You can live happily ever after with your new girlfriend and Cass will continue on with her life. All she needs is closure," she finished, giving him a firm look and he sighed again, shaking his head.

"I don't know…" he told her dubiously. "Maybe we could talk about this another time," he suggested, looking like he needed a little more convincing. "What are you doing tomorrow?" he asked. "We could have lunch or something; catch up."

"Sure," she agreed. Hopefully their conversation tomorrow would go much better than this one. "The arcade at say… 3?" She hadn't been there since the beginning of the summer, but it was their perfect rendezvous location. He nodded.

"Sounds fine," Motoki said, picking up his phone and apparently adding it into his schedule. "Just you and me, right?" he asked incase she had been planning on bringing Cass along too. She smirked.

"Just us," she clarified. "I promise. It'll be our little date." He smiled in response.

"_Ahem_…" They heard a noise from the doorway and both turned to look at the source of their interruption. Her heart skipped. She should have known that things never went as planned.

It was Mamoru… and he looked even more confused at seeing her than Motoki and Kunzite had earlier. Unlike when she had seen him just a couple of minutes ago, he was no longer wearing a blazer or tie and the top buttons of his shirt were undone. His hair was messy as hell as if he'd just been pulling at it and she wondered what in the world could get him so worked up that would have him looking like that.

But all that didn't matter because he was still as perfect as ever.

His eyes were completely focused on her and the intensity of his stare made it impossible to turn away. It wasn't until that very moment that the full impact of seeing him in person rushed over her and she felt faint. She had missed him _so much_.

"_Ahem_!" She heard a little more urgently this time and realized that it was coming from a woman that was half shielded by Mamoru's tall frame.

She came around Mamoru to pointedly stare between her and Motoki with obvious contempt, her foot tapping angrily. Her hair was pulled back into a severe ponytail, but she was a beautiful woman and she couldn't believe that she hadn't noticed her right away. She was wearing a bright red blouse with black slacks, holding her coat in one arm as she raised her eyebrow expectantly at them.

"_Motoki_!" the woman screeched and Motoki immediately took a large step away from her. Could this possibly be who she thought it was?

"She was looking for you," Mamoru mentioned, staring at the seething harpy with a bored expression.

"Who is that?" the woman demanded, asking both men. Usagi looked between Motoki and Mamoru; was this woman serious? This _bitch_ couldn't possibly be Motoki's _girlfriend_?

"Reika, babe, please-" Motoki said soothingly. "This is an old friend of ours," he explained, staring only at Reika while introducing them. Reika relaxed considerably, but the murderous intent didn't vanish from her eyes until he walked towards her. "I'll see you later, Usagi-chan," Motoki said in farewell while passing Mamoru with a curt nod.

"Bye," she replied weakly, frantically thinking about what was going to happen once she was alone with Mamoru for the first time in ages. She couldn't believe this was happening! Motoki was going to leave her so fast… but they'd just met up!

She looked at Mamoru nervously and her heart started racing again. Her breaths came out shorter and her hands were already shaking at her sides; she was a fidgety wreck! But deep in her soul there was a resolute calm. This was all that she'd ever really wanted from the moment she'd come up with the idea to come here. It was to see Mamoru, to talk to him, hug him, kiss him, have sex with him again.

Mamoru's hands were casually placed in his pockets as he watched Motoki and Reika kiss each other briefly in greeting on their way out. He then fully turned to her before addressing the couple behind him.

"Close the door," he requested smoothly. Motoki gave them a single backwards glance before complying.

* * *

A cliffhanger, I know…. but at least it finally happened. Usagi and Mamoru _met_. Haha!

Vent it out in a review! ;)

-CattyKitty


	5. Chapter 4 - Good News

_CattyKitty_

I wasn't going to post today since I was initially only going to do 5 updates, but what the heck, its Christmas! It will be my last daily update until Friday since I have to work on new chapters so I hope y'all stay patient with me.

This chapter will be dedicated to the lovely Querida Usagi~xoxo. And many more shout outs to prascymoon, 4evaSeddie, LoveInTheBattleField, Anne Heartwood, sazbelle, Mzmiami, HaiCamillaAnne and everyone else who has continued read and support this story.

Ultimately what I want to say to _everyone_ is thank you all so much for the positive remarks and even the critiques. In the end, it will all only make me a better writer. So thank you, thank you all very much.

Also, Happy Holidays everyone! Ho ho ho!

(Standard disclaimer: I do not own any of the Sailor Moon characters of which I am writing about. This story is an original that I wrote for fun and without compensation. All characters belong to Naoko Takeuchi.)

Two More Weeks

**Chapter 4**

**Good News**

***Mamoru***

When he'd first walked into the conference room looking for Motoki, he hadn't expected to find him there but for the sake of Reika's whining ass, he checked anyway. To not just find Motoki there, but Usagi as well was incredibly shocking. He could do nothing more than stare at her. She was the last person he was expecting to see.

He immediately squashed down the unexplainable hope he'd had of her possibly being here to look for him after he noticed her gulp at his entrance. Clearly she was here for Motoki and that had been confirmed by the snippet of conversation he and Reika had walked in on. But still, to come all the way over to CINC headquarters just to get Motoki? It seemed too weird. As soon as Motoki clicked the door shut, he cleared his throat.

"So…" he took a step toward her. "How's it going, Odango?" He didn't want to straight out ask her what she was doing here, but he was quite curious to know.

"Fine," she replied surprisingly cool. "How are you?" she asked back. He nodded a couple of times; this was kind of awkward.

"I'm doing good," he responded, trying to observe her reactions carefully as he stepped closer.

Oddly, he couldn't read anything off of her; she was acting as collected as he'd ever seen her and wondered briefly if these couple of months had been longer than he'd realized. There was no smile on her face nor were there any other signs that she wanted him any closer than he already was. But that only gave him even more initiative to find out.

"I can't imagine how hard it must have been not seeing me for so long." He knew the routine that would push them back into familiar territory. Usagi grinned at his comment. "But here I am."

"Who said I came here looking for you?" she crossed her arms with a smirk.

"Why else would you come here?" he asked, taking a seat on a random chair and inviting her to sit next to him. She remained standing.

"Was that really Motoki's girlfriend?" she asked snippily, throwing him off with the change of conversation.

"She is," he answered, wondering why of all topics they were talking about this.

Usagi said nothing more and walked around toward the back of the room. He could see that she was taking in the décor: the long mahogany oval table, the 30 or so well-worn leather swivel chairs messily arranged around it, the black and gold wallpaper and of course, the full wall of glass on the opposite wall, back-dropping the city below them.

In turn, he took the time to admire her fully as well. She was wearing a black, cropped jacket with a fitted, tan t-shirt underneath, dark-washed skinny jeans and flat ankle boots. She was as casual as he'd ever seen her and still looked as hot as he remembered. It had been a while since he'd thought about her—out of sight and out of mind, as the saying goes, but he was suddenly very glad for the reminder. She turned around and caught him watching her.

"This must be a great place to work," she commented lightly, walking towards the large glass windowpane extending from one corner to the other behind the table.

Seeing her silhouette against the sky brought back a sense of nostalgia from their last time together. That night he wouldn't forget; they'd had a great time after all. He got up from his seat to follow her, but she neither turned nor acknowledged him.

"It's just fine," he said slowly. Why was she refusing to look at him? Their bodies were almost touching and his heart was thumping in his chest. There was something thrilling about being this close to her again. He leaned in closer to her ear. "Did you have a good summer?" he asked her quietly.

"I did," she replied evenly, finally turning around to face him. "How was your vacation?" Her gaze never wavered as she looked him directly in the eyes.

"It wasn't much of a vacation." Why did everybody always assume that? She nodded slightly and there was something about the force of her look that made him swallow hard.

Her lips were a subtle pink hue, parted just slightly, _invitingly_, and he couldn't contain himself. There was a playfulness that overcame him whenever she was around. He slowly inched closer to her face, his hands going up on the glass behind her. One of her hands calmly slid to his waist, her open palm resting against his abdomen. She wasn't pushing, but she was keeping him away. He welcomed the challenge.

"Why are you here?" he asked directly this time, searching her gaze for the appropriate answer. And whether he imagined it or not, he wasn't entirely sure, but her hand on him shifted just a tiny fraction, and it moved lower. That was all the reply he needed.

He pushed her hand off him and closed the gap between them, trapping her against the glass. Usagi was silent, her eyes fixated on his, her breath hitched deliciously. He bit his lip in anticipation; he definitely needed a reminder of a few things.

His mouth was just about to brush hers when she jerked her head away from his. Her movement didn't completely register with him until a few moments later and he froze where he was, confused. She was still in his arms, but wasn't acknowledging him, looking the other way and avoiding his gaze. He backed off.

Clearing his throat and suddenly feeling like an idiot at her rejection, he hastily turned around so she couldn't see just how humiliated he was. He had no idea what the hell just happened. Had he mixed up his signals? No. He'd been sure he'd read her right. But then… _huh_?

"I haven't seen you in _months,_ Mamoru," Usagi whispered behind him. He could hear the guilt in her voice and he really didn't want her making him feel any worse so he just put up one hand and turned around to answer her.

"I know," he said, wishing he had a drink at the moment. It had been such a long time since someone had made him feel so stupid and boy did it sting. Clearly, he'd been too cocky in thinking that they would pick up where they left off.

"We haven't talked since you got back," Usagi continued, "and I just…" He gave her a side-glance waiting for her to finish, but he knew what she was going to say even if she didn't: she assumed he'd lost interest in her.

"Moved on," he finished, trying to smooth over the tension by spinning it back to her. "I know your attention span is quite short, so it's perfectly understandable."

"You know that's not what I meant!" she snapped before shutting her mouth quickly. She was just pissed about his lack of attempt to contact her… So typical. He sighed. This was exactly the reason why he avoided getting into situations like this with women in the first place. They had the nerve to get offended at the smallest things.

"You're mad at me?" he asked and she crossed her arms but refused to look at him. He doubted that she would ever come looking for him, but if she was going to complain about their distance, then she could at least share the blame. "You have my number, " he reminded her, just having remembered it himself. At first she looked at him with narrowed eyes as if she had no idea what he was talking about, but then quickly looked away."You could have called me if you really wanted."

"I thought that you'd given it to me by mistake," she mumbled. Honestly, he still didn't know quite why he had given it to her either, but that shouldn't matter anymore. He did and that was that.

"It wasn't a mistake, Odango." She dropped eye contact immediately.

"Right." There was more silence. Finally, she shifted uncomfortably and looked towards the door. "I should go before this gets any more awkward." She was being so serious that he almost didn't get it.

"You mean before you break down and admit how much you've missed me? Then you probably should go. That would be awkward indeed." She glared at him before a tiny smile crawled onto her lips and she shook her head. "What's so funny?" he asked, grabbing her hand before she exited the room. "It's the truth." She looked down at their hands together as he passed his thumb over her knuckles.

"I just remembered why I hate you so much," she said, her voice barely a whisper. She was staring at him again, her large blue eyes revealing all the emotions she was desperately trying to hide from him. He gripped her hand tighter.

"How could you've forgotten?" He brought her hand up to his mouth and kissed it. She licked her lips nervously and removed her hand from his grasp. She turned away, but not before he saw her smile.

Walking out into the hallway, he stared at her ass wondering why he'd never seen her in tight jeans before. She should wear them more often. Or maybe he just needed to see her more often. Once in front of the elevator, he grabbed her hand again and she looked up at him. Taking a step closer, he noticed her sultry smile return.

"When are you going to come visit me again?" he asked, leaning in and bringing his face closer to hers. He wanted her to answer him up close, if she could.

"I'm not," she whispered back smiling, but her focus was straying between his eyes and his lips. He almost had her.

"Why not?" he pressed, squeezing the hand he was still holding and intertwining their fingers together. Her eyes danced, looking at him through her dark lashes.

"Because _Mamoru_," she said his name in the sexiest murmur he'd ever heard.

"Because what?" he insisted, moving closer. "Don't you want to see me again?"

"No."

He laughed. The elevator arrived with a chime and she let go of his hand.

"I'll be waiting for that booty-call," he reminded her as she got in. She rolled her eyes.

"Yeah. Right." She turned her head away from him, jamming the elevator button hard to make her escape quicker. He only waved at her enthusiastically, earning a scowl from her as the doors closed pathetically slow.

He smirked. He was only trying to bother her. Making his way back into his office, he wondered if he ever would get that call. Although he sincerely doubted it, he knew that this would not be their last encounter and _that_—despite her resistance—he would definitely guarantee.

* * *

***Usagi***

She was still flustered when the elevator doors opened a couple of seconds later to the 63rd floor. Getting off, she decided to roam around the seemingly deserted floor until her face went back to its normal shade after realizing that she had no idea where Kunzite's office was. Damn Mamoru! She'd only seen him for less than 10 minutes and he was already making her all hot and bothered. Some things never change.

She thought she would have been able to resist him a little better than she had, but who was she fooling? Definitely not him, that's for sure. She sat on a lone chair she'd found on the side of a hallway hoping to gather her thoughts and calm down before she met Kunzite. Even though part of her wanted to stay mad at Mamoru, it was hard to suppress the electrifying rush she felt whenever he was close. Turning down that kiss had been the hardest thing she'd had to do in her _entire_ life.

But she'd had to do it. She had to show him that she wasn't willing to accept his advances without a form of apology. He had to know that things could be different between them—should she choose them to be. (Not that she would anyway, she was a sucker, but that wasn't the point.) Mamoru had to know that he wouldn't be so easily forgiven for his absence.

Originally, she'd believed that it was dumb for her to expect anything from him, but as she'd realized just now it was clear that he too still expected something from her. Because despite their current status still being unknown, the sexual tension between them was too astounding to ignore. And as to what they were going to do about that, well, it was yet to be seen.

"Good. You're here." Startled, she turned to face Kunzite who seemed to have walked up behind her without her realizing. He mentioned to follow him and he led her to a large conference room, although nowhere near in size of the one upstairs. Just as she was about to ask him what he wanted, she noticed Mina standing in the corner to her left. Kunzite stepped out the room quietly.

Although she had seen Sailor Venus a couple of times in the last few months, she hadn't seen Mina in ages. They hadn't spoken since their blowout when she overthrew her as leader and gutted the heart of their team.

"Usa," she started, looking as nervous as she'd ever seen her. "I can't even begin to apologize, but-" Mina choked and then stopped, clearing her throat. "I am _so_ sorry!" Mina started crying. "About everything! I can't believe that I went so long without trying to work this out with you! I completely abandoned our friendship, the Senshi. I selfishly alienated the only people in the entire galaxy that I love. Please, Usa, please forgive me."

But was too late for Mina's apology; she was already crying anyway. They both flung into each other's arms and cried their sorrows away together. She missed her so much and it felt like her soul had finally been restored the moment they hugged. She was more than ready to put this behind them. She needed Mina and she never wanted to get into another fight with her again. It hurt too much.

"Don't be sorry. Everything you said was true." She backed away from Mina so they could talk face to face, both of them taking seats next to each other. "You have more experience than me and I'm nowhere near as strong as you. As soon as you joined the Senshi, I should have passed the title to you. You were the only one worthy."

"Don't you dare say that!" Mina argued. "You've always protected every one of your teammates. I was wrong for trying to take that away from you. Of course you're worthy!"

"But I wasn't. It's only because of you that I've been able to get better. I wasn't a good leader, I lacked motivation but because of your push I now contribute more to the team. You were always meant to be the leader, Mina. I know it; we _all_ knew it. The Senshi were all just too afraid to admit it… especially to me."

They sat in silence, both of them staring out the windows. It had been a sad truth that she'd had to realize alone out of necessity, but there was no way that Sailor Moon was better than Sailor Venus. The moon wasn't even a planet and she was just a sidekick that needed to learn her place. They all knew who the true hero was here.

"I really want to talk to everyone," Mina said quietly, "but I'm so afraid. Do you think that any of them would even want to listen to me?"

"Of course they would! We all miss you so much. How haven't you realized that yet?" Mina smiled at her, but turned back to look out the window.

"Even Ami?" Usagi looked down at her fingernails nervously. How could she answer that…

"Ami's not that type of person to hold grudges," she said, but she wasn't even sure it was the truth.

"Luna's told me that she's still mad." She shook her head to hopefully ease Mina's mind off Ami.

"That darned cat! Don't listen to her! By the way, she's gone totally feral on me. I haven't seen her in weeks, please tell me she's been staying with you." Suddenly Mina's features lit up.

"Oh, let me tell you!" Her tone indicated that she had some juicy gossip. "I guess because our apartment truly is a _love den_," Mina winked devilishly and she wanted to roll her eyes—even though Mina and Kunzite were incredibly sexy and she would totally watch them do it. "Luna's _pregnant_!"

Mina's words hit her like a ton of bricks. Luna, her darling pet for the past three years, was having baby kitties? Oh my goodness… Luna was having BABY KITTIES! She got up excitedly, grabbing Mina and jumping around in circles.

"I can't believe it!" she said completely amazed. "We're going to be _grandparents_!"

* * *

Kitties! YAY!

-CattyKitty


	6. Chapter 5 - Trials of Friendship

_CattyKitty_

Enjoy!

(Standard disclaimer: I do not own any of the Sailor Moon characters of which I am writing about. This story is an original that I wrote for fun and without compensation. All characters belong to Naoko Takeuchi.)

Two More Weeks

**Chapter 5**

**Trials of Friendship**

***Motoki***

When he arrived at the arcade, Usagi was already sitting at a booth waiting for him. It was a new experience seeing her on time for something, but he hoped that it was a good sign and not an omen. He felt antsy enough about this lunch date.

When she saw him, she waved him over and he sat across from her. She already had ordered him a drink and was currently sipping her own.

"Hey! I got you some soda. I hope that's okay." He nodded.

"Of course, thanks." He forced himself to take a drink even though he didn't want any because he didn't know what else to say. He had no idea how this conversation was going to start.

"I missed you so much! The arcade is not the same without you." He silently took another sip. "Well, as you may have realized," Usagi started, "I made a new friend this summer." She waited for him to concur and he nodded weakly. Why was she beating around the bush? He wanted to get this conversation over with already.

"What do you need to tell me?" he said irritably. Reika had already bitched to him about coming to meet her so he couldn't say that he was in the best mood to have this discussion. "Does she have a message for me or something?" He leaned back in his seat, looking through his phone impatiently.

"No, she doesn't have a message for you." He could tell that had annoyed her. "I told you yesterday that she has no idea that I even spoke to you. Still, you should think of this as just as important as your other priorities." She was glaring at him and he put his phone away. "I'm nobody to tell other people how to live their lives and honestly Motoki, we're friends, but I barely know you. What you do with whomever you want is none of my business, _but_ we both know what you did was wrong."

"You're right, it isn't any of your business. I appreciate your concern, advice, whatever it is, but I'm not talking to Cass. Period. Why should I? What do I even have to say to her? Nothing Usagi, that's what."

"You know damn right that you owe Cass an apology!"

"An apology for _what_ exactly?" He was already more pissed than he'd anticipated, but he didn't care. What the hell did she know about him and Cass anyway? "Apologize because I have a girlfriend and it's not her? Give me a fucking break! I have known Cass for five years already and we have been in the same situation all this time. I don't owe her anything!"

Both of their arms were crossed, his in anger, hers in frustration. And both were in a sort of stand off, staring at each other in contempt waiting for the other to look away. He hated to have to break it to her, but he had way more pride than she assumed because there was no way at all that he was going to talk to Cass. No way.

"I know you love Cass, just-"

"You know _nothing_. Get that right. You know nothing about me, you probably think you know Cass, but really, you don't know anything about us." She tried to interrupt, but he just spoke over her. "You are a CHILD. Don't talk to me about how I need to deal with women—especially when you know nothing about relationships yourself."

"How can-!"

"Just shut up, Usagi. I'm done with this conversation." Her jaw tightened, lips twitching with whatever she wanted to say.

He was fed up with her and he had to make it clear that there were personal boundaries that he absolutely _refused_ to talk to her about. Like she said, she was nobody to judge other's lives and yet she was doing just that. He knew it to be a fact that none of this was on behalf of Cass—Cass would never, _ever_, bitch about this to him. And he was confident in that statement because unlike Usagi, he actually _knew_ Cass. He knew her attitude and jealous ex-sexfriend just wasn't her.

"Say what you want about my _credentials_ to give advice," she spat. "But I promise you that I know Cass better than you think. Even when she isn't obvious, I can read her. I, _unlike you_, CAN tell when she's upset, angry _OR heartbroken_. And I'm telling you this—by not telling her when you got back is proof enough that you feel guilty!"

"That's ridicu-!"

"Now it's your turn to listen to me!" she shouted. "You're USING her! Just tell her you're sorry! It's so easy! Tell her that you're sorry that she read more into this than was actually there. Tell her that you have no intention whatsoever to be with her, that you don't want to be her boyfriend. Tell her that you won't ever bother her again and that you won't come back to her when you're bored_._ Tell her that you two can't be friends anymore, because guess what? That kind of relationship never works!"

He could tell that she was disgusted with him, that whether he liked it or not Cass had managed to change Usagi's perception of him in the short few months since he'd last seen her. The Usagi he knew would never be so rude or pushy. She wouldn't meddle in his personal life and she sure as hell wouldn't be giving him advice on who he could sleep with or not. The girl in front of him was someone else completely.

Her eyes reflected the same except they were actually staring at him in genuine anger (something that's never happened before). Her bangs were longer and styled to the side now, different from her usual full forehead curtain. She was even wearing make-up, chandelier earrings that glittered and a low cut blouse under an opened sweater.

This Usagi in front of him was probably a more mature version than the girl from June and probably more sexually aware. Hell for all he knew she probably had a boyfriend, but none of that mattered to him. It still gave her no right to butt into his life. She might feel like she was on his level, but she wasn't, she wasn't even close.

"I'm going to pretend like this conversation never happened," he told her after taking a few deep breaths. "I won't mention this again and hopefully we could put this past us. Even though quite honestly, as soon as I leave this booth I can almost promise you that we won't be seeing each other anymore." She was shocked at his statement and clearly hurt, but he didn't back down from it. This very moment was going to be the last of their friendship if she didn't shut the fuck up and move on from this subject.

"That's not what I want," she said after a few seconds of silence. "I don't want us to stop being friends." Her eyes searched his as if disbelieving that he would do such a thing as threaten their relationship, but she still smartly took heed to his warning. "I won't bring this up again. I'm sorry."

He nodded once and got up off the seat. He didn't want to stay there anymore, he couldn't deal. She looked like she was about to protest his leaving, but something stopped her from doing so which was smart because right now he'd never been more angry with her.

"I'll see you later, Usagi-chan," he said, forcing himself to be nice even though he just wanted to punch a wall. She nodded meekly and he walked away, dying to get as far as possible before he lost it in front of her.

As soon as he left the arcade, the fresh air did him good. That conversation with Usagi had been a waste of time. To some point she was right, part of him knew that he needed to give Cass an explanation, but on the other hand it's not like he'd actually promised Cass something more. He didn't owe her anything and thus wasn't morally obligated to have to face her.

This happened between them all the time, they'd hook up for a little while and then not see each other for months—the same back and forth games they had going on for years. He and Cass were like phases, or seasons rather, and they both had to accept that their summer fling was definitely over; it was time to move on.

Cass was a special person to him, that he could never doubt, but leaving with Mamoru had been one of the best decisions he'd ever made. It was true that at first the trip was his own personal hell, but he'd been able to overcome that with Reika's help. She had been his lifeline, the balance he needed during an emotionally chaotic time.

By no means had he thought that their relationship would get as serious as it was now, but it slowly progressed into something he'd never had before. He truly believed that he loved Reika and even though he'd felt the same way about Cass before, he knew that with Reika it was different. With Cass it was all about sex all of the time, but with Reika he liked to believe that it went way deeper than that.

But it's not like he could make Usagi understand all of this. She wasn't anybody noteworthy to him anyhow, so he shouldn't have to concern himself with explaining his life to her. But her intrusive manner still bothered him. Friends! Ha! As if they could still be friends after today. She was really stupid. He hated to admit it, but after so many years, he just realized that Mamoru had been right about her all along.

* * *

***Motoki***

Climbing into his car, he revved his engine and took out his phone. Placing it on his dashboard mount, he dialed Mamoru on speaker as he pulled out the parking lot. Feelings of frustration about Usagi still lingered and with no idea what to do about it, he figured that if anybody would be able to help it would be Mamoru. He also felt like he should give him the heads up about this friendship between Cass and Usagi. If anyone had anything to lose from that union (aside from himself of course), it would definitely be Mamoru.

"Yo," Mamoru said as soon as he picked up.

"Did you get to talk to Usagi yesterday?" There was a pause on the other end of the phone, but he understood that this question very out of the blue.

"Not at all," Mamoru replied slowly. "Why?"

"She's just so weird," he said with a sigh. "Yesterday she came looking for me so that she could talk to me about—get this—_Cass_." Mamoru remained silent and he continued. "So yeah, apparently, Usagi and Cass met up during the summer—_goodness knows how_—and are best fucking friends now."

"_What_?"

"Tell me about," he muttered. "So when I see her, she gets all sappy on me like: _Oh Motoki I missed you so much_. And I tell her whatever, you know, she's been a good friend to me. I tell her that I've been busy and that I'm sorry for not keeping contact. Next thing I know, she's about to start crying and thinks that the reason I haven't called her is because you two hooked up."

"Oh god," Mamoru groaned over the phone, undoubtedly face palming himself at the moment.

"Well yeah, _that's_ a real thing. So deal with that—cause apparently she's insecureabout whatever happened between you two, but that's not the point. The point of her oh-so-lovely visit was to get me to apologize to Cass. You hear that, _apologize_! She came all the way from her house or whatever, waited for me to get out of our meeting, just to tell me that I need to apologize to Cass about Reika. I never heard of something so ridiculous!"

"I hope you realize that Cass doesn't give a fuck about you right now." He took in a deep breath, nodding to himself. "Whatever Usagi is saying, she made up in her own little twisted mind, because Cass would never-"

"Yes, I know that!" he exasperated.

"Then why do you care? It's not like this is a direct message from Cass; who cares what Usagi thinks? She's a gossipy little bitch, why are you seriously letting this bother you?"

"Because she's getting involved in my business and it's pissing me the fuck off!" He was this close to hanging up on Mamoru. How could not get that this made him angry? "I told her that we should meet up today so I could tell her in private to-"

"Are you about to meet her now?"

"No. I just left. We literally talked for five minutes and I had to leave. She apologized, but that's not good enough."

Mamoru stayed silent on the other line and he patiently waited for whatever he was going to say. Right now he desperately needed some insight. Although Usagi was absolutely being a stupid bitch, part of him understood that she was doing this out of a sense of honor to her friend. He would never want to admit this to anyone, but she was right about one thing. He felt horribly guilty about what he did to Cass.

"What do you think?" he prompted Mamoru after the silence had gone on for too long.

"Honestly, what do you want me to say?" Answering him with a question was a sure fire way of dodging, but he built up some courage to ask him straight out.

"Is she right?"

"Who?"

"Usagi." Mamoru took a deep breath into the receiver. He knew Mamoru's answer regardless; it didn't matter what he said. But… it did matter to him what he said.

"It's _your_ life," Mamoru finally answered. "It doesn't matter who's right."

"How diplomatic of you," he muttered. How could Mamoru not have noticed that he wanted some genuine advice? "Whatever. Talk to you later."

"Sure."

Hanging up, he grabbed the phone and threw it on his passenger-side seat pissed. Talking to Mamoru had been useless—it actually had made him angrier. Angry because he hadn't been helpful at all, but mostly angry because they had let their friendship get to this point—and neither one cared enough to do something about it.

* * *

:'(

I know so many of you are ready to rage quit: 'where's the goddamn Usa/Mamo action?!' you ask. Answer: next chapter, up tomorrow. Relax!


	7. Chapter 6 - Bad Girls

_CattyKitty_

(Standard disclaimer: I do not own any of the Sailor Moon characters of which I am writing about. This story is an original that I wrote for fun and without compensation. All characters belong to Naoko Takeuchi.)

Two More Weeks

**Chapter 6**

**Bad Girls**

***Motoki***

When the phone rang later that evening and Jed's name popped up, he had second thoughts about answering. The only time he and Jed ever bonded was through weed and since Reika was currently standing right next to him, picking up the phone probably wasn't a good idea. But he did anyway and to his surprise it was about something unexpected.

Rei's father was having another one of his fundraisers and Jed was inviting him. He decided to go since Reika had just gotten home and had complained about being tired, cancelling their usual evening plans. Also, his earlier frustration about Usagi/Mamoru needed some airing out, so he took the otherwise tedious invitation as a blessing in disguise. He'd do anything to distract himself at the moment, even if that meant socializing in a party full of people he didn't know or care about.

"I called Mamoru, but he said he was busy," Jed told him as they walked up to the house the event was being held. Although he had expected Mamoru to be with them, it was with mixed feelings that he accepted it would only be him and Jed tonight. "He's probably busy crying himself to sleep because you two aren't speaking anymore."

"We're not fighting." Jed's exaggeration was uncalled for. "We just haven't had much time to hang out."

"Right," Jed muttered. "I know you're dating someone, but I think you forgot that you already had a boyfriend."

"You're so funny."

"We all know Mamoru can't do anything without you. He's probably plotting a way to kill Reika as we speak. So you know, be careful. Jealousy is not something to take lightly."

He didn't bother responding to Jed's trolls. He didn't come here to get mocked. Thankfully a transition in conversation came naturally as they stepped into the ballroom. It was huge and the place was decently packed.

"What do you do here anyway?" he wondered. "What's your job?"

"Babysitting Rei." It was then that he realized they were walking straight to her. "She doesn't know how to behave."

"What do you mean?"

"She keeps ignoring her father. And she brushes off all polite chatter. No one can interact with her. I'm telling you," Jed sighed, "girls these days don't know their place."

As soon as they stood in front of Rei, he knew exactly what Jed was talking about. The man Rei was currently speaking with seemed frustrated as every question he asked was given one-word answers. The guest seemed to use their arrival as a reason to give up and excused himself. Immediately after noticing them, Rei pretended to not see Jed. Almost reluctantly, as if she wanted to find a reason to be mad at him as well, she pulled him into a hug.

"Hey, Motoki. It's good to see you."

Before they were able to start a conversation, Jed scolded her.

"Talk to people who want to talk to you. Stop being a rude."

Rei didn't bother looking at Jed and instead inspected her hair ends.

"Go fuck yourself."

"You need to grow up," Jed hissed. "You're supposed to be here to help."

"I couldn't give a damn. Everyone here is just pretending to be interested in each other, but nobody really gives a shit about any of this. This whole thing is a sham. He has more than enough money to pay for everything himself. Fucking corrupt ass old man."

Jed was forced to apologize to the elderly women to their left that stared at Rei in shock and distaste. They moved away and just as Jed knew, their checkbooks were definitely gone along with them. Rei really didn't give a fuck.

Jed at that point was cursing under his breath calling Rei all kinds of names that only they could hear. The only reason the entire room didn't collapse into itself was because the second right before Rei opened her mouth to retort her father showed up.

Takahiro gave him a pleasant greeting before looking straight at Rei. Judging by his criticizing eye he obviously did not approve of her outfit. She was in a lilac chiffon button-up blouse paired with gold tipped flats and the only person in the entire room wearing jeans. In his opinion it could have been worse. It wasn't the most formal attire, but at least she wasn't in gym wear.

"How nice of you to show up." The contempt was obvious and he was tempted to step back slowly until he was a good distance away from them. This was too awkward to bear. "Are you too good for the dress code?"

"I came straight from school," Rei scowled.

"Then you should have stayed in your uniform." Takahiro put his hand on Jed's shoulder, done with his daughter's antics. "Come. I want you to meet a few people."

When Jed and Takahiro left, Rei visibly relaxed. Although the nasty look didn't budge from her face, at least she stopped cursing. Looking over his shoulder, she pointed to the bar behind him.

"My father knows the bartender personally. They won't serve me anything." Her eyes were pleading. "Would you mind? I'm dying here."

He only agreed because he understood how she felt. That little scene with her dad would have made anyone want to start breaking things. He came back with two mixed drinks that looked like juice and handed her the one with the brighter straw. They moved around the huge room until they settled by a large window away from the spotlight.

"How was your trip? Did you just get back?"

"No. I've been here a few weeks already."

"Oh, nice."

There was a long silence that neither of them knew how to fill and so for a long time they just stared out the window. It was windy and leaves picked up in tiny twisters and swirled around until they hit the porch. He was mesmerized with the scene until Rei spun her cup, the ice hitting the glass loudly and pulling him out of his thoughts. He took the hint and fetched her another one.

"Thanks." She took another sip. "I don't usually do this, but my dad's an asshole."

He didn't know if she was disclaiming the drinks or her behavior in general, but knew it was probably both, so before the topic went to shitty parenting, he decided to voice his concerns. She hadn't brought up anything about Usagi's visit earlier and he wondered if she knew about it. Though Rei wouldn't normally by any means be a person he confided in, to be honest, lately he didn't have many people to talk to.

"Usagi came to look for me yesterday." He told her about the reasons of her visit and their sour meeting earlier. Rei was not only surprised, but she looked embarrassed.

"Oh, Usagi," Rei sighed as if it was something she'd expected from her. "She can't mind her own business."

"I mean, I know how she is, but…" He didn't really know what to say to defend her. "I feel bad about yelling at her."

"You're too nice, Motoki. She deserved it. As much as we may not agree with the terms you left." He could tell she was very passionate about her distaste yet censored herself for his sake (which he humbly appreciated). "We've known you for years and should have enough respect to leave you alone. Don't listen to Usagi. She's retarded." He was relieved at her words and felt strangely validated.

As the feeling of being watched crept down his spine, he self-consciously looked around for the source of unease. It was Jed and he was pissed. Rei turned too and even from across the room, Jed's dirty looks were obvious and probably had something to do with the drink in her hand. Rei scrunched up her face and gave Jed the finger before turning her attention back to him.

"You don't like him much."

"He still doesn't seem to get that."

"He wants to help," he assured her.

"I might have more respect for him if he didn't have his head shoved so far up my father's ass."

He laughed. Jed's attempt to win over her father only served to push Rei further away, but he probably knew that already. Unless he genuinely enjoyed getting on Rei's bad side, which he wouldn't put past him either, he definitely had other motives because there was no way he was that dumb.

"He's trying to impress you," he insisted, but Rei didn't bat a lash.

"If that was really the goal, he'd know by now that it doesn't work." Rei shook her head. "He doesn't care." Before he was able to defend Jed, she suddenly perked up. "Finally!" He turned to where she was looking and noticed Mako making her way over in a white chef coat and tall hat. "My escape route!" Mako rushed through the crowd, trying to hunch her tall body to somehow be less seen but was that much more obvious. Though by some miracle, not one person was paying attention to her.

"Oh hey, Motoki!"

"Not now!" Rei slapped Mako's hand before she was able to give him a friendly pat. "We have to go!"

"But," he looked around to see if anyone had the two conspiring teenagers next to him. No one. Not even Jed was looking their way anymore. "Where are you going?" Rei and Mako were talking in hushed whispers.

"Fine! Fine! The cab is waiting for us outside, just calm down." Mako handed her an extra white chef coat. They were not doing what he thought they were doing… "I swear, you better pay me back. The poor guy had to go around the block like fifty times because of the blockade. I had to leave my purse in the car just to make sure he'd stay."

"Okay, I told you I would! Just show me how to put this stupid hat on!" These girls couldn't be serious. "Motoki cover me!" Rei pulled on his arm and forced him to create a wall between her and the other attendees behind them. "Don't let them see me."

"Your father won't be-"

"I don't care!" Rei and Mako looked in every direction to ensure the coast was clear before rushing to the nearest exit. "Jed and my dad can suck it."

"Bye!" Mako waved and in a split second they were out of his sight.

He wasn't sure for how long he was standing there, but he was snapped out of it by a startling strong grasp on his shoulder. Jed looked furious but didn't even bother asking where Rei had gone and he felt mildly guilty for passively aiding in her escape. Jed was right, Rei was _bad_.

* * *

***Mamoru***

The conversation he had with Motoki earlier had been frustrating. Clearly Motoki had expected more out of him, but he had nothing to offer. In fact, their talk only served to further confuse him about what was actually going on. How upset would Cass have to be for Usagi to look for Motoki the way she had? The answer was unnerving.

Which made him glad that their prior arrangement had made it so that he was seeing Cass this evening. She sounded perfectly normal on the phone when he'd called her a few minutes ago, friendly even, but he wouldn't make his judgment call until they could talk seriously over dinner. There, he'd try to get her to tell him what was the situation with Motoki and why she'd kept herself so distanced from him as well.

When he arrived at the spa, the front door was locked and he was still holding onto the buzzer when Cass finally opened the door for him. Inside it smelled incredibly pleasant and something about the atmosphere actually relaxed him. Cass really knew her stuff.

"You don't have to keep buzzing, I was already walking over here!" Cass complained without greeting. He kissed her cheek before she walked away. He didn't like having Cass in a bad mood because it never led to good things and he could already tell things were different between them. They hadn't been face to face in months and she hadn't even bothered with salutations.

"I'm sorry," he apologized. She pursed her lips before returning to the reception desk and continued to write on a stack of papers. He gave her a moment before he realized that she wasn't rushing. "What? No tour?"

"Do it yourself," she replied without looking up. "There's no one here."

"Don't be a bitch." She gave an annoyed sigh before dropping her pen. "I was just kidding," he said when he realized that she really wasn't into him being there. He nudged her back into her seat. "I'll take a look around and then we're going to dinner to talk." She didn't reply and went back to work.

He started his tour by going through the large oval doorway Cass pointed out to him. The room was much larger than the entrance, the walls a fun orange pastel. There were long couches along the sides with foot pedal-like things for women to get their pedicures done, some tables for manicures as well and hair dryers mounted along the walls; much like an upscale salon.

The next room led him into a massive pool with a dozen private rooms for individual massages along the walls. There were five more private rooms; each with it's own Jacuzzi's, and three others with deep tubs for mud baths all decorated lavishly. He took a long hallway that led him to another lounge filled with TVs and magazines and even a couple of electric massage chairs.

He reached the locker/changing room and was impressed at the décor. It was so ridiculously extravagant that even he couldn't help himself to sit on one of the velvet loveseats. He fixed his hair on the gold ornate mirrors, smelled the fully bloomed orchids in the surrounding vases and even took a piss in one of the many colorful mosaic porcelain toilets. This was one of the ritziest bathrooms he'd ever seen; all that it was missing was a servant to pass out towels (which he doubted Cass would forget about and was probably only absent because the spa was closed).

In another section outside the changing room, there was a large in-ground group bath modeled over ancient public baths and another section for facials. He passed by the last room before he had made the full circle back onto the front and it was comprised of two large group saunas. Noticing that one was still turned on, he looked for a switch on a side panel to turn it off. This was the first fault he'd found. Cass should have a master button to turn off the entire spa; there shouldn't be a single thing left on over night.

The large generator made a loud swooshing noise as it powered down and he walked back to the front to complain to Cass before he heard a muffled noise coming from within the sauna. Curious to know what it was, he opened the door to check it out but saw nothing in the steam.

Suddenly an earsplitting shrill had him holding his ears in pain. Did one of the steam tanks blow? He saw a silhouetted figure of a woman and realized that there was someone still inside, probably naked. Embarrassed, he quickly stepped out the sauna and closed the door shut. Cass told him that the spa was closed. There shouldn't still be people in there.

Cass came running a second later and was confused as she looked around for the cause of the commotion. She was about to ask him what had happened when the door to the sauna opened and out came none other than Usagi. A robe was tied tightly around her waist and she looked alarmed as she stepped out. Her features immediately relaxed when she saw Cass, that is, until she saw _him_.

"_Creep_! What are you doing here?" she shrieked, staring at him in shock. He couldn't believe that he was bumping into her here. He should have recognized that frightening scream of hers anywhere.

"Why the hell are you screaming like that?" Cass cried, her hand still clutching her heart in panic. "You scared me, Usa!" Instead of answering, Usagi pointed a freshly manicured nail at him.

"That asshole was trying to peep!" she accused him.

Normally he would have been annoyed that she chose to greet him so rudely, but considering how she looked, he couldn't be mad. Her hair was wet and her skin gleamed from the hot steam, plus the robe she was wearing was super short. If only it hadn't been so damn foggy in that room he would've been able to catch quite a lovely glimpse.

"You do know that the spa is supposed to be closed, right?"

"But isn't it like 5'oclock?" she asked Cass confused. "I couldn't have slept for that long." He shook his head. This girl was _truly_ special.

"Only you could actually fall asleep in a sauna," Cass shook her head in disbelief. "Hurry up, Usa. It's past 6:30 and I need to close up." Usagi gasped, but nodded quickly and sprinted off while yelling an apology over her shoulder.

He and Cass looked at each other before slowly following. Inside the changing room, they walked in to find Usagi sitting in a vanity in her bra and panties drying her hair with a blower. She scowled at them and quickly grabbed a towel to throw on her lap.

"You two know I'm changing in here!" she complained when he didn't look away. Cass made herself comfortable on one of the lounges.

"Relax," Cass muttered. "It's nothing he hasn't already seen." Usagi's eyes narrowed, cursing under her breath before proceeding to ignore them both.

"I don't have all day," he complained after ten minutes passed. He didn't have the patience for Usagi to get ready. He and Cass had been sitting in silence while she filed her nails and the car he'd called to come get them was already waiting outside. "I'm leaving in five minutes with or without you."

"You hear that, Usa?" Cass yelled at Usagi who was in the back getting dressed. "Hurry up!"

At that, Usagi finally made her way to them and he had to admit he was glad he'd waited. She was wearing a long tan pea coat over a short pink dress and gold flats. Her hair was pinned up sloppily, but still sexy, perfectly messy wisps framing her face and neck. She looked completely different from yesterday, so much more dressed up and glamorous.

"I'm done! I'm done! Sorry!" Usagi rushed.

"Wait! I have the perfect heels for that outfit!" Cass exclaimed and walked out the door before her to get them from her office. At Cass's sudden departure his eyes met with Usagi's, but she looked away quickly and followed Cass out.

"I don't need them, I already have shoes!" she protested, but Cass had already come back with some heels in tow. "I'm not wearing heels to walk home," Usagi told her patiently as if she was already used to this type of behavior. "I'm leaving my shoes on."

"Oh shut up, you're not walking anywhere. You're coming to eat with us," Cass said, glancing at him briefly. He had a feeling her invitation was just an excuse so that they didn't have to be alone at dinner. "Hurry, put these on, the limo is waiting for us out back."

"I'm not hungry!" Usagi complained. "I'm going home!" When Usagi refused, Cass practically tackled her onto a nearby couch, grabbing her leg and trying to yank her shoes off. "You freak!" Usagi cried, but both girls were laughing hard. Usagi finally gave in as Cass had successfully strapped her into 3½-inch heels before tossing her old shoes into her purse.

They finally left the spa and Cass stayed back to grab her coat and turn on the security system. He and Usagi walked to the car in silence. The chauffer opened the door for them, but he made sure to be the one to help her in. He grabbed her hand and scooted in after her, their hands lingering together briefly before she moved. Cass came in and pushed him out the way.

"Dammit Mamoru! Move!" Cass screeched, sitting in the little space right in between him and Usagi. He groaned (she wasn't going to let him get any moves in, was she?), but decided to sit across from them anyway, hopefully avoiding any confrontations with Cass. He leaned across the chair to pull a chilled bottle of wine and proceeded to serve them.

"To Cass," he toasted as all their glasses clinked. "The spa looks beautiful." Cass couldn't help smiling at the compliment and in that moment he knew he could fix whatever was wrong between them. Cass blew him a kiss, a foolproof indication that she was happy, and he was beyond relieved that they were on the steps to returning to normal.

He held onto Usagi's gaze for a while as their cups lingered close to each other before she nervously looked at Cass, who had noticed their staring, and quickly moved away. Cass cleared her throat.

"So tell me what you think. I need to know _everything_," Cass implored excitedly, changing the subject. Cass inquired about his every last detailed opinion of the spa and that topic of conversation continued on for the entire car ride.

When they arrived at the restaurant, they were ushered in and promptly seated by a large water fountain away from other diners. A waiter informed them that the chef was preparing them a special menu, but that they could request anything they'd like in the meantime. They declined and Cass just ordered a large bottle of champagne for the table.

"How did you two brats meet up?" he finally asked what he'd been dying to know after their servers left. "Was it to conspire against me?" Usagi rolled her eyes and took a sip of her drink to let Cass tell the story.

"First of all, I'm not a brat," Cass said snippily and even Usagi had to hide her smile. "Secondly, we met in June at your house smarty-pants, or did China Adventure Time wipeout your memory?" He sighed loudly, regretting bringing up the subject. Obviously Cass was still sore about his trip, but she seriously needed to drop it already.

"We bumped into each other at one of her stores and she invited me to the spa's grand opening," Usagi answered.

"Odango was invited to your opening, but I wasn't?" Now he was completely ticked off. Cass was taking his extended absence too personal. "What kind of bullshit is that? You didn't even know her and yet she got priority over _me_?"

"Oh, right! Because we're," Cass moved her fingers between them, "supposed to be business partners? Don't _even_ get me started on that," Cass hissed between her teeth. "You didn't even bother to call me to find out how everything was going the entire summer. How do you expect me to update you when you didn't even pretend to care about it in the first place?"

"You're still angry about that? You know I was working. Don't act like I was sitting on my ass all day. It was a _business_ trip, not a retreat." She was getting him pissed and accusing him unfairly. Of course he cared, he just had other things on his mind. "You should take it as a compliment that I didn't call you. It means that I trust you not to mess up."

"Both of you just shut up," Usagi grumbled. "You're both wrong so you both have to apologize." He crossed his arms. There was only silence as each refused to say a peep, but even he knew that if Usagi had to be the mediator then there was definitely something wrong with this picture.

"I have to go to the bathroom," Cass suddenly excused herself and briskly left the table. Usagi didn't look too happy with him.

"Look, if she's upset about Motoki, that's not my problem," he explained. "What he does with his life has nothing to do with me." She didn't look convinced, but he decided to change the subject. "What exactly did you tell her about us?" He was curious to know the extent of Cass's knowledge because even though Usagi was exactly the type to kiss-and-tell, it still struck him as odd for her to tell the Blabber Queen what they'd been up to.

"I didn't tell her anything, she just assumes the worst. You know how she is."

"You didn't dispute it either," he stated, knowing why she was avoiding his gaze. She hesitated before speaking.

"Isn't it obvious anyway," Usagi shrugged, "what we did?"

There was silence as the waiters brought out their appetizers and served their drinks. Although the energy wasn't exactly tense, he still had a pressing matter that he wished to ask her about. He hadn't expected to see her so soon, but figured that he could use this opportunity to clear some things up that Motoki had mentioned before Cass came back.

"I talked to Motoki," he started, trying to ease in the fact that he knew what was bothering her about him. "He told me about your concerns." She sat up straighter in her chair and suddenly looked nervous.

"What do you mean?" she asked carefully, probably trying to figure out exactly what Motoki had said to him.

"I wasn't purposely trying to avoid you," he clarified. "And neither was he. I would really rather that there be nothing left unsaid between us, so say what you must. We don't have to be," he couldn't help but smiling at the word, "_friends_ if you don't want to." She placed her cup down on the table.

"We left on good terms," she said simply, their eyes connecting. "And I want to keep it that way." He nodded.

"Sounds like a good plan," he agreed, satisfied that things would go on between them as predicted.

Although they weren't elaborating on where they stood, he was sure that sooner or later they would hookup again. By her saying that she was fine with continuing to act as they had before, she was pretty much admitting to him that their eventual relations would be inevitable. That sounded just peachy to him.

"You're not wearing the bracelet I bought you," he observed after a couple of minutes of them eating in silence. She looked up at him and gave him a frisky little smile.

"I pawned it."

"Don't start with me, Odango."

"Usagi," she clipped. "My name is _Usagi_."

"I'll call you whatever I want," he reminded her sternly while she sucked her teeth. "_Odango_." She rolled her eyes at him again just as Cass returned. He stood up to help Cass back into her seat since he noticed that she still looked angry, but she continued to give him the cold shoulder even as he pulled out her chair. "Did you get over it already?"

"_You_ get over it," she hissed. He covered his smile with his napkin. It was too easy getting women upset.

"You love being an asshole, don't you?" Usagi wondered, grinning at him like ninny as Cass cursed him under her breath again.

"He's always been like that," Cass muttered, picking up her chopsticks. "I tried disassociating myself from him once I realized it, but he just kept following me like a lost puppy. I don't know if I'll ever be able to get rid of him now." He rolled her eyes.

"Don't even go there." Cass, satisfied at getting back at him, moved on.

"Speaking of assholes, did you hear about what happened with Chad?" Cass asked him and Usagi burst into laughter after hearing his name. Immediately he was intrigued. "Did you know that he and Rei had been dating since the middle of summer?

"I heard something like that…"

"Well, it turned out that she wasn't the only one he was seeing," Usagi fumed. "We caught him with someone else and Rei slapped him right there. It was awesome." He raised his brow at the news. Maybe Jed had a chance after all.

"But because that isn't enough," Cass continued, "a slap in the face is _never_ enough for a stab in the back, we decided to take it another step further." Cass got a wicked gleam in her eye and even Usagi's were merry in mischief. "We killed his car."

"_Completely_ trashed it!" Usagi cackled and Cass followed suit. He was suddenly glad that they were in private because he'd never thought he'd be more embarrassed as he was now.

"We left only a wheel so that he could know that his car was forever gone," Cass concluded after she started breathing normally. "We smashed the windows and ripped parts of the interior out and left it by the sidewalk. We're sure he got the message." His eyes were probably popping out his sockets. What was _wrong_ with these girls?

"I can't believe you would do that." He was in shock. As a car enthusiast, his heart hurt for Chad. Even though what he'd done to Rei was wrong, destroying a man's pride by destroying his car was positively evil.

"We junked it for a thousand yen," Usagi quipped with a shrug. He knew that Chad liked to drive classy cars that were worth a few shiny pieces; what a low blow. "Calm down Mamoru, we're not that bad," Usagi laughed lightly. "We donated the money to charity."

The remainder of the evening continued on with their silly stories of parties and other randomness, but even though it was mostly gossip, he still had a surprisingly good time. They reminded him of Mina's Chinese gossip, but way better because he actually knew the people that they were talking about.

When they were all done with their desserts, they walked over to the coat check and retrieved their belongings before a waiter informed them that their ride was ready. They left out the back after paying and climbed into the waiting car.

As soon as they got in, Cass crawled over the seats to the minibar. Pulling out their previous cups, she filled up two of them and sat to his left. She beckoned Usagi closer and gave her a cup as well.

"To our sexy CEO," Cass saluted, raising her champagne flute. "Even though you're probably the biggest douche on this planet, I missed you anyway."

"Welcome back!" Usagi echoed and both girls gave him perfectly synchronized pecks on the cheek. Usagi lingered momentarily and discreetly planted a second kiss just below his ear. "I'm glad you're here," she whispered before backing away.

He smiled, wishing he could ignore the fact that she'd lightly licked him before pulling away. _This girl_… Cass may have been buzzed, but she was not blind and although it wasn't smart having her as an audience, he couldn't resist the urge to pull Usagi back and force her submission again.

"What did you say, Odango?" he asked, grabbing her arm and bringing her closer. "I couldn't hear your whispering." Usagi turned red.

"I _said_," Usagi laughed, completely abashed now that Cass was looking at her. " 'Welcome back', you _idiot_!"

"I thought I heard something different."

"You wish!" She pulled away from his grasp and he reluctantly released her.

"Didn't you say you missed me, too?"

"You're hysterical." Usagi looked down, but it was obvious that she was still mortified. He laughed for her benefit since Cass was now staring between them annoyed.

"I am, aren't I?" he said hoping to ease the situation as he drank the rest of his champagne.

As much as he wanted to continue to bother her, he knew that they couldn't get into anything too heavy right now, so what was the point? Besides, their banter was better suited for when they were in private anyhow, somewhere where he could freely punish her for lying to him. He watched Usagi even as she continued to avoid his gaze and grinned to himself. He had a few places in mind and the next step was getting her there.

* * *

^.^

Please leave a review!

-CattyKitty


	8. Chapter 7 - Second Helpings

_CattyKitty_

Happy New Year!

(Standard disclaimer: I do not own any of the Sailor Moon characters of which I am writing about. This story is an original that I wrote for fun and without compensation. All characters belong to Naoko Takeuchi.)

Two More Weeks

**Chapter 7**

**Second Helpings**

***Usagi***

Yesterday's encounter had been very unexpected. Hanging out with Cass and Mamoru last night had been weird, but still fun. She hadn't been fully prepared to bump into Mamoru so soon, much less have dinner with him. Don't get her wrong, it was awesome and he'd been charming and flirtatious as always, but it was strange with Cass around.

She just felt like she shouldn't act so horny around Cass. Especially since Cass wasn't even attempting to be discreet about her disapproving glances whenever she and Mamoru made eye contact. She knew about how intricately intertwined Cass's relationship with Mamoru and Motoki had once been and although she knew that what happened between them was ancient history, she still didn't feel comfortable with Cass knowing how she really felt about Mamoru. When it came to him, there was something that made her want to be extra secretive.

Which was great for her when Cass spontaneously got dropped off first last night leaving her and Mamoru alone for the entire ride to her house. The moment he had turned to face her, she had to fight the urge to throw herself across the seat at him. Although their entire night had been fairly amicable, the occasional looks they'd been exchanging had been intense to say the least.

Luckily (for her composure at least), Mamoru had found a rather easy way to distract her straying thoughts and he actually criticized her for talking with Motoki. He defended his friend's right to privacy and blamed her of trying to cause drama. She didn't let his scolding rile her because as much as his commentary was ignorant and clearly bias, she had to admit that he was partially was right. Motoki could do whatever he wanted, that asshole.

When they arrived at the corner of her home, Mamoru opened the door for her while simultaneously blocking her from exiting. Surprisingly, he asked her if she had plans for the next day. She replied that she didn't and he told her to pass by his office for lunch today so they could 'catch up'. She agreed and he'd moved out her way, telling her not to be late. _As if she would even dream of it!_

Technically she had lied when she said she didn't have anything to do because she still had school. However, as a senior it didn't matter to her nearly as much as it might once have because her classes were simple enough that as long as she did her homework she was guaranteed a passing grade. What would missing a day really matter anyway?

As her luck would have it, her morning dragged on forever. English lasted painfully long and she practically ran out the moment the bell signaled the end of class. Luckily managing to snag a cab right outside her school to take her to the spa, it took only about 10 minutes to arrive without all the usual afternoon traffic. Once she got there, she took her time getting ready, still having about an hour until she had to meet Mamoru, and pampered herself up a bit before getting dressed.

Today was the day that she had to figure out exactly where she stood with Mamoru. Even though she really liked Ichigo, she had to be honest; he was just a placeholder for Mamoru. That wasn't fair to him and he definitely didn't deserve it, but neither did she. She should be with the one that she wanted to be with.

So she made up her mind. This was it. Today was the deadline to find out whether she should try to forget about Mamoru or not. She knew that whatever happened today in his office or wherever else they went, that she had to make her choice. She just couldn't keep using Ichigo. Nor could she keep obsessing over a guy that didn't care about her.

Since she didn't trust herself to make an unbiased decision, she came up with criteria that she felt were fair assessments on Mamoru's character that she would then base her decision off of. And they were the following.

1. How casual could they be? - What was most important to her was the atmosphere. Were they going to be sexually charged the whole time, or would they actually be able to talk like normal people? That all depended on how seriously he actually took the date. If he didn't really feel like talking, then it was already assumed what he wanted her there for.

2. Could they hold a conversation? - Their last date had gone great and they'd talked all throughout dinner. Hopefully it was because they had actually reached that part of their friendship and not because he'd just been trying to get in her pants. She needed to know if their relationship had reverted back to their old squabbling, or if they had moved past it.

3. Would he remember anything from their last date? - Self explanatory. If he didn't remember a damn thing about what they'd talked about before, she wouldn't want to hold it against him too much since guys were numskulls like that, but it would definitely just reinforce the idea that he just wanted sex.

4. Was he going to make the first move? - That all depended on what kind of attention he was giving her in the first place. She was going to make sure that she looked hot so that he would want to rip her clothes off, but if the entire time they were together he was just focused on her cleavage and was not able to pay attention to what she was saying, then red flags were going up. And no that wasn't an unfair trap. In her opinion, men should be sly about checking women out; if they let it interfere with the way they interacted, then that was definitely a problem.

5. Did he expect a follow up? - That was key to whether her whole plan would work. He had to _keep_ wanting her because otherwise, what was the point? If he wasn't interested then this would be the last time she'd chase after him (that's what she would tell herself anyway). But if he asked her out again, then it was official: she was going to ride that boat until it sank. Really really.

All that said, she was sure it was all going to go as expected. And by expected, she literally meant that everything was going to stay exactly the same. So maybe her test wasn't exactly foolproof since in reality all he had to do was get number 5 right and she would follow him to the end of the earth if he asked. But still, she had to try _something_.

Giving herself fifteen minutes to get to him, she took another cab to Mamoru's office and walked inside the building. Before she was able to reach the security line, a middle-aged man approached her.

"Odango?" he asked, speaking slowly as if it were her codename. She nodded slowly, realizing that this man was obviously sent by Mamoru. "Follow me." He walked her past the security and to a different elevator than the one she'd used before. "Corporate's express," he explained, walking inside and pushing the button for her; it only had the top 5 floors. He punched in a series of numbers on a security pad before the elevator made a twinkling sound powering on. He stepped out and the doors shut behind him.

A couple of seconds later as the doors opened to the last floor she let all her previous thoughts roll off her shoulders and took a deep breath as she stepped out. This elevator left her just across from what appeared to be Mamoru's office and she nervously looked around her as she walked up to the empty reception desk. There was no one around, the entire floor empty, but the double doors to his office were wide open. She peered inside.

He was sitting on his desk reading a newspaper, one hand impatiently clicking and unclicking the top of a pen. Nearly instantaneously, as if he had somehow known she was there, he lifted his head and their eyes met. Putting his paper down, he stood up.

"Come in." She walked in and he met her in the middle, helping her with her heavy backpack. His office was huge. "You're not late," he stated. She rolled her eyes.

"What it is with your obsession with time anyway?"

"For some people time is very valuable," he said, placing her bag on an empty chair in front of his desk.

"Then I must be privileged to be in your presence." The corner of his mouth twitched in beguilement.

"That you most certainly are." Spotting something on the floor, he bent down to pick it up and stared at the object in his hand briefly before handing it to her; it was her school ID. It must have fell out her bag as he put it down. "Are you supposed to be in school?" He looked surprised. She pursed her lips and slipped it back into her coat pocket, shrugging. There was no point in denying it because it was more than obvious what her priorities were.

"Anything to see you, _Mamoru_."

* * *

***Mamoru***

When he asked Usagi yesterday to pass by today, he'd completely forgotten that she had class. Without her uniform on, he had no reminder that she was still in high school. His invitation had been such a spontaneous thing that he barely even thought about it being a Tuesday before he'd asked; he just wanted to see her again. And he was glad he'd done it. Her provocative answer led his mind straight into titillating thoughts. She had cut class to come see him. Interesting.

He noticed that her school bag was crammed to the brim, a blue material poking out of it that he was sure was her uniform skirt. She had changed for him, too? Her long pea coat covered her all the way to her knees and he had no idea what she was wearing except from what he could see: nude stockings and low-heeled black boots.

"Anything?" he repeated. He would definitely find a way to test that statement. She smirked over her shoulder as he helped her out of her coat.

Hanging it on his coatrack, he turned back to get a good look at her. She was wearing a long-sleeved, square-necked black shirt and a very sexy, rich purple pleated skirt (almost like her uniform skirt, but much shorter). He just wanted to grab her ass from under it and find out what kind of panties she was wearing. Lace? He hoped it was a thong. She stepped closer and put her hand on his bicep.

"Your arms got fatter," she observed, pulling him out of his dirty thoughts.

"It's called muscle, bitch," he retorted immediately, feeling oddly sensitive at her criticism. Luckily she ignored his rudeness, amused with his defensive tone.

"Geez!" she laughed. "Can't tell the difference between a diss and a compliment, I see."

"You'd probably cry if I told you that you gained weight."

"Did I?" she asked with a hand on her hip. He kept his face set. This was trap. She knew she looked good.

"You're as close to a cow as you've ever been." Her face turned red. "Or maybe a hippo." He grabbed the front hem of her skirt, feeling the thick material smooth between his fingers. "A big, purple hippo."

"You're a _fat_ liar," she accused, flicking his hand off.

"You know what? I'm going to let that one slide," he replied. She triumphantly raised her eyebrows.

"Sounds like I won anyways." He walked to the entrance.

"I'm just trying to make love," he said, closing the doors before him and turning to her. "Not war." She looked away, staring at anything but him. Well that got her to shut up. "Ready to eat?" he asked, deciding to change the subject before she got shy.

"Yes." She turned around and walked to him, watching as he unpacked the food onto the table in front of the facing leather couches. "What did you order?" she wondered, leaning over beside him to check in the large bags. "Or is it a mystery like it always is with you?"

"If I ordered what I wanted everyday, I'd be bored. I like when the chef surprises me." He handed her chopsticks and a bottle of water. "Why are you being so critical of me today anyway?"

"I'm not," she smiled, kneeling down in front of the table on the square cushion and starting to dig in. He followed suit, sitting across from her. "Just asking."

"Still as annoying as ever," he muttered and she laughed at his expression.

"So, what's new with you?" she finally asked after she noticed his staring.

"I bought a new apartment." He said the first thing he could come up with; it was exactly where his mind was.

"Oh really, why?" she wondered, popping another one of her favorite rolls into her mouth. "Your place was nice."

"Too many people knew my address. I guess I shouldn't always bring the hoes over," he shrugged.

"You really shouldn't," she agreed, peering at him as she took a sip of her water.

"I have two decks and pool on the roof," he informed her, hoping to tempt her into his cave. "You should come check it out. It's all indoors."

"Well that depends," she said slowly, pushing around the cucumbers on her salad.

"On what?"

"On how well you can convince me." She was smiling.

"Then it'll be easy," he smirked, "considering how fast I got you home last time." Her jaw clenched. "The truth is the truth, darling," he purred. "So tomorrow it is." She stared at him annoyed.

"Ever the dreamer."

"No. I am the believer." She shook her head in doubt, but didn't answer. She hadn't said yes, but it didn't sound like a no either.

"So you're quite the celebrity now," she commented, changing the subject. "Even more than before. I hear you keep turning down a whole bunch of endorsements. Why? I thought you liked attention." He kept his mouth full, refusing to answer any of those types of questions.

"I had a dream about you," he said after swallowing, hoping to rouse her interest and forget about what she was saying. She looked at him expectantly, interest piqued indeed.

"Ooh? About what?" she wondered mischievously.

"It was stupid," he admitted, thinking twice about mentioning since its memory had just popped into his head and wondered why of all times he remembered something so trivial. "We were playing hide-and-seek, or _something_." It was that type of dream that made you feel like you've had it many times before and he was desperate to share it, to hopefully recall it better.

"I bet you I totally won," she challenged. Her competitive spirit made him begrudgingly shrug.

"You're tiny. I couldn't find you." She giggled. "The worst part was that I could hear you laughing, telling me to find you and I'm searching everywhere," he shook his head. "It pisses me off just thinking about it." She laughed harder and he had to admit it was kind of funny when he really thought about it. In his dream however it was way more serious than he was explaining, because in it he was panicking the entire time. Every moment he couldn't find her sent him into cold chills and it was odd that no matter how long he followed her voice, he just couldn't reach her.

"Are you sure you looked everywhere?" she teased.

"Of course. I just had no idea where you went." She folded her hands on the table in front of her.

"Well, here I am," she smiled. "You lured me out."

"That's not why you were invited," he assured her.

"Then why am I here?" She wasn't smiling anymore; it was a serious question. He took a moment to answer.

"Because I want you here," he answered simply. She stared at him pensively, a finger at her lip as she considered his words. "Isn't that a lovely thing to hear?"

"Not from you." She narrowed her eyes. "I know what that means." He laughed out loud.

"You claim to think you know what I want, and yet you still came," he said. "What does that say about you?" She only smiled in response and it was no revelation to him about what it meant. But he liked being reminded nonetheless.

"You assume too much." She was chewing on her rice ball slowly, trying to hide her smile. "I promise." He couldn't help grinning in response; she was just too cute sometimes.

"Oh, you'll hop on again. _Fact_." She placed her hand over her mouth, almost choking, but still laughing all the same.

"Whatever you say!"

They ate in good humor for a few more minutes until most of the food was gone. He finished his soup and cleared off the table as best he could, dumping the empty containers into the large bag they came in. Usagi sighed in satisfaction as she ate off the last roll on her plate and threw it into the garbage bag.

"So, Odango." She looked at him, ready for his question. "Did you miss me?" The corner of her mouth twitched trying to stop herself from grinning and she looked away from him, spinning her bottle cap.

"As much as you missed me, I'm sure." He laughed.

"I didn't think about you at all, I swear to you."

"I know you wouldn't lie to me," she said smiling, but he recognized the statement for what it was; another challenge. And she was right, he had thought about her.

He grabbed a small bag at the end of the table. Removing the lid from the dessert container, he brought the entire plate in front of him so she wouldn't be able to reach.

"Come here." She raised her brow but didn't oblige, leaning over to see what he had in his hands.

"What are you going to do with that, throw it at me?"

"Why would I throw food at you? How old do you think I am?" Was she retarded? "Just come over here." Tilting the large fudge brownie, he jiggled it around a bit to entice her. It worked and she crawled over.

"What?" she asked, kneeling in front of him and staring at the dessert before them.

"Feed me."

She paused, leaving the plate in his hand and staring at him a long while. Then she broke into a grin. He grinned back; he knew she'd come around.

She came a little closer and taking her finger, dipped it into the caramel on top. With uninterrupted eye contact, she brought it to her lips and slowly sucked, giving him a lewd smile in the process. He could only stare back; she was so _hot_. Dipping her finger in again, this time she brought it dangerously close to his lips.

"Is this what you want?" He stared at her decadent finger and opened his mouth for a taste. _Delicious_.

She quickly moved her finger up and pasted the caramel on his nose instead. She tilted her head back, laughing at his expression. Sneaky little tease. Grabbing her shoulder, he pulled her in and rubbed his face over her neck and collar, smudging the caramel wherever he could. His face would be sticky and disgusting, but it would be worth it.

"No!" she laughed in disbelief, pushing his head away. "So gross!" She tried moving his hands off her but he kept his grip firm. There was no way he was going to let this opportunity go. Her smile faded as he moved towards her neck again, a small gasp escaping her as his tongue reached her skin.

Licking down her neck, he moved toward her collarbone making sure to clean up every last bit of the sugary mess before kissing back up to her throat. He felt her pulse beating wildly, her shallow breaths desperately trying to compete with the rhythm. Pushing her hair away from her neck and shoulders, he moved his assault to below her ear, kissing her lobe with fervor.

"Odango." She was completely still, trying desperately to control her breathing. His teeth latched onto her ear and she bit her lip, tempting him to do the same. "This is what happens when you fool around with me."

They stared at each other and it was almost as if time had stopped. They were at that crucial moment where they would either go right back at it, or stop and awkwardly attempt to return to being casual. He had one preference in mind, but decided not to act on it. She had already dissed him the last time he'd tried kissing her; he was not about to go through that same embarrassment again. This was her call.

Usagi blinked repeatedly and swallowed, reaching out for his cheek tentatively. Leaning in, she quickly kissed his nose, her tongue darting out to remove the remaining stickiness. She lingered close to his face before backing away, wiping him dry with her thumb.

She moved to sit beside him with her legs outstretched. Accepting her decision (they had nothing but time), he brought his arm around her shoulder. She leaned into him as he placed the dessert on her lap and he brought a spoonful of brownie to her mouth.

"I should shove this in your face," he said and she laughed lightly. "You're lucky." She opened her mouth trusting him and he fed it to her. After the first bite, she greedily took the spoon from him and devoured the whole thing by herself. He didn't mind since he'd bought it for her and sat back to watch her enjoy the dessert.

Sitting beside her on the floor and taking deep breaths, he was slowly alleviating his sexual excitement. Usagi at his side was as soothing as it was provoking, but it was fine. He didn't mind just hanging out with her right now because as much as he wanted to jump her bones, he knew that the journey was half the fun—he was sure that they would arrive exactly where he wanted in due time. The plan today was simply to remind her how interesting their dynamic could be. Her addiction would soon follow.

"Well," she looked up at him after she'd finished the brownie, "I think it's time to go." He nodded. "I'm only using you for your food, you know." Then with an afterthought she added with a shrug, "I'm sure you're busy anyway." He nodded again. He didn't have anything to do today since he had made sure to keep his schedule clear for her, but he didn't tell her that.

Together they cleaned up the rest of their mess and tossed everything into the trash receptacle. When she went to get her things, he walked over to the coatrack and pulled off her stuff. They stood in front of each other as he handed her coat over.

"Thank you," she murmured, but didn't take her coat from him.

Instead she took a step toward him, pulled him by his tie and kissed him. It caught him off guard, but the feel of her lips brought him back to their last time together and suddenly he felt like he was exactly where they needed to be. When she finally moved away, he could see that the barriers she'd been carefully keeping up since they met on Sunday were completely gone.

This was the same Usagi now that he'd left that night at Rei's shrine. The one who was wondering, just like him, if things could ever be the same between them. Although he knew that the truth was no, they couldn't go back, it was perfect because he didn't care to know how they could work, or even if they could. It didn't matter right now; all they had to worry about was making up for lost time.

Dropping her coat on the floor, he pulled her back in and moved them backwards. He pushed her against the wall and she gasped excitedly, slipping her tongue over his lips and inviting him in. He pushed against her some more and she thrust her hips forward, moaning as she came into contact with his pelvis.

He was glad that she was just as horny as him because together they could easily help each other out. Unfortunately, he didn't have any condoms on him since he honestly hadn't expected to get far with her but hoped for both their sakes that she had come prepared. Otherwise they'd have to play differently if she didn't, but either way were going to have fun. It was time to prove to her exactly why he was the only true man in her life.

Bringing one hand to her breast, he pinched her already hard nipple and she moaned holy deities, her hands reaching up his collar to unbutton his shirt. Separating so that he could remove his tie, he stared down at her flushed face and lost all self-control. Fuck foreplay, he wanted her now.

"Do you have any condoms?" he asked and she shook her head, impatiently ripping her own shirt over her head. He cursed his luck, but didn't let that slow him down.

He slipped one hand underneath her already tiny skirt, pulling it up to see her panties and his breath caught in the back of his throat. She was wearing thigh-high stockings and a garter belt. He forced himself to take a deep breath; how was he supposed to control himself when she came here practically begging him to fuck her?

Moving one hand in between her legs, he shoved his hand past her underwear. Smoothly rubbing over her clit, her juices coated his fingers and made him even more frustrated on what he was missing out. Usagi pushed his hands off her and desperately started undoing his pants. Massaging his erection over his underwear, she brought his hips closer to her and he groaned.

"Fuck me, Mamoru!" Usagi begged."Fuck me now!" He bit his lip, his underwear getting painfully tight. How was he supposed to say no to _that_?

He kissed her mouth shut, barely able to contain himself from whipping out his penis and sticking it to her raw. Why did she have to come here and torture him like this?! If she had been planning on seducing him, why hadn't she come prepared?

"Dammit, Usa!" He let out a frustrated growl. "Just wait until we get to my place," he said, pushing her back against the wall. "I swear that I'll fuck you _so hard_," he promised and she cried out in pain when he bit her lip roughly.

"I'm on birth control, you idiot! _Just slide inside me already_!" she barked, pushing his head away and fumbling with his waistband again.

Only for a second did he think about her words. _Birth control_? How many times had he heard that line before? He'd always resisted the temptation of going raw in the fear of women getting purposefully pregnant, but this was Usagi they were talking about and not even for a moment did he think she was lying to him.

He picked her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist, gripping onto his shoulders tightly. Pushing her panties aside, he shoved his cock inside her—just like she'd begged him—and rocked her onto the wall. They both grunted from the pleasure and he was sure that the moment when he'd shoved himself inside, he'd seen the beautiful light of heaven's gate.

He pumped into her hard, her sexy moans right by his ear and he was already on the verge of cuming. _How in the world had he managed to live without going raw_? It was even better than he'd expected and he couldn't believe that he'd been missing out for so long. His dick was throbbing at the mere _thought_ of cuming all the way inside Usagi's sweet pussy.

"_Fuck_," he groaned. "I missed you." Not knowing what it was that had come over him to say it (probably the dick talking), he knew that it was the truth either way. She kissed him desperately in response, clinging onto him as they moved in unison.

Burying his face into her hair, she smelled as sweet as he remembered and kissed underneath her jaw, biting his way to her ear. Her cries were his undoing as he released himself inside her, gripping her thighs tightly to keep her still as he came. There were no words to explain the satisfaction, the intensity of his orgasm, but all he knew was that he was instantly hooked.

As he pulled out of her and put her down, his semen dripped down her inner thighs in possibly one of the sexiest sights he'd ever seen. She quickly went over to grab some left over napkins and wiped herself off before it reached her stockings. Tossing the dirty napkins on the table, she stared up at him with a grin.

"That fast, huh?" Usagi teased and he was incredibly embarrassed. She was right; he had come too fast. How could he explain that it was just too good?

"Trust me, we're not done. Just give me a minute." He took a deep breath. He just needed a moment to recover.

"That's how long it _took_," she laughed throwing herself on the couch.

"Ha, ha, ha." He started stroking himself in preparation. If she kept talking shit, he was going to shove it straight in her mouth.

"So what _did_ you miss about me?" she mockingly asked as she watched him, an interesting air of confidence surrounding her. He kicked off his shoes and stepped out his pants, walking over to her.

"Nothing in particular," he answered, following along with her jest. Grabbing her by the waist, he forcibly pulled down her skirt and panties, leaving everything else on. Letting one hand travel back up to her face, his thumb brushed her lips. "Just you screaming out my name."

She grinned in response, standing still as he fondled her. The lust in her eyes was not sated in the least and he felt horrible for making her wait, but promised himself to make up for it. Thankfully, his dick was hard and ready to keep going quickly. She wasn't the only one who needed more.

He pushed her down to the low table behind her so she sat on the edge. Kneeling on the floor in front of her, he spread her legs and propped himself in between. She laid with her back on the table and arched herself as he went inside her again.

He groaned. Somehow, it was like this was a completely different wonderland. Every time he went inside her, it was as if he'd been turned a virgin again and he was now having sex for the first time. It was indescribable pleasure. All he knew was that Usagi felt amazing.

With her hands over her head and eyes closed, he knew she was enjoying herself as much as he was. Her breasts jiggled freely out of their bra cups as he pumped in and out of her and her loud continuous moans were self-rewarding. Realizing that she'd quickly come to orgasm from that position, he pulled out and moved her so she was on all fours on the floor. Spreading her ass cheeks, he bit one of them and she giggled in surprise.

Pushing her lower so that she was on her elbows, he mounted her. Her cries were like sweet lullabies and urged him to keep her begging for more, except this time, he really had her calling his name. The louder she got, the harder her punished her, smacking her ass until both cheeks were pink. He moved with quick thrusts, enjoying the grunts she emitted. He couldn't get enough.

"Slow down, asshole!" she hissed after he'd gotten too ahead of himself and was moving like a jackhammer. He reluctantly complied, halting his fast ramming. What was _wrong_ with him? This was not the time for him to revert back into a barbarian. He was acting as if he'd never had sex before. Forcing himself to use deeper, calmer strokes, he ran his fingers up and down her spine, hoping to calm her again and she visibly shuddered in response. Slowly, the tension in her shoulders left and she let out a long, contented sigh.

Soon after, he let himself follow her lead and came as well, releasing all the energy he'd had left. Flopping onto his side, they both stayed on the floor for a couple of minutes while their breathing returned to normal. After they mustered up the will to move, Usagi finally got up and cleaned herself off again, handing him some of his clothes as she got redressed.

"I wasn't expecting that," he said, buttoning his shirt back up. She smirked.

"I know. I had no idea you were going to spank me so hard."

"You deserved it," he reasoned, sitting down on one of the armchairs to stare up at her after he'd put his pants back on again. She walked over and stood above him fully dressed, arms crossed in front of her. She raised her eyebrow, inquiring him to go on. "The way you kept begging me to fuck you, I had to treat you like my little whore."

"Oh yeah?" she laughed. She leaned over and whispered close to his lips. "But you said you _missed_ me…" He bit the inside of his cheeks to keep from looking embarrassed, but she'd caught him anyway. "It's okay," she laughed and gave him a quick kiss, "I won't tell anyone." She walked away to pick up her coat from the floor and grabbed her bag.

She was on her way out and he couldn't understand why she was leaving so soon. He expected her to stay a little longer and hopefully go at it again in few more minutes after he got a breather. After such wondrous coupling, he'd figure that they'd at least go back home together. When she started heading for the door, he suddenly sprung to his feet to stop her.

"Where are you going?" he asked, stepping in front of her.

"I'm sure you're busy, I'll get out of your way." She smiled politely and waited for him to move.

"I don't have anything else to do," he said. "Stay." She smiled, a hesitant sigh coming out her mouth.

"_I'm_ busy," she said, taking a step around him, but he blocked her again.

The look of superiority proved that she was doing this to him on purpose. He was begging, but he couldn't help it. What they'd just done, he wanted more of and in all honesty he could care less how he went about getting it. If he had to ask for more of her time, then he would. He'd never wanted something this badly before and he was not about to pass up some true moments of unparalleled bliss just because he let a little pride get in the way.

"When am I going to see you again?" he asked and she chuckled, her eyes brimming with victory.

"Well, well. Never thought I'd hear_ that_," she mocked. He eagerly waited for her answer, not caring that he sounded pathetic. "I'll call you."

Finding no other way to argue with that without literally chopping off his balls and placing them in her open palm, he finally let her leave—and she closed the door behind her without looking back.

He continued to stare at the spot where she had stood. He couldn't believe that she'd just left like that, even after he had asked her to stay. _And_ she wouldn't even tell him when they'd meet up again. It was unbelievable! What was most frightening about this situation was that it sounded a lot like something he would've done.

Oh god. He'd created a monster.

* * *

Please review!

-CattyKitty


	9. Chapter 8 - Compromises

_CattyKitty_

Thank you all for the reviews! I'm so glad that you all enjoyed the Usa/Mamo action ;) There's more where that came from, just not in this chapter!

Enjoy! And hopefully you all won't want to punch Usagi in the face afterwards (or me!) :P

(Standard disclaimer: I do not own any of the Sailor Moon characters of which I am writing about. This story is an original that I wrote for fun and without compensation. All characters belong to Naoko Takeuchi.)

Two More Weeks

**Chapter 8**

**Compromises**

***Usagi***

Leaving out of Mamoru's office was one of the most exhilarating things she'd ever done. The sex was amazing, but it was how confused he'd been as she prepared to go that was the most perfect moment of her existence. She had wanted to dance out of that building! But of course she knew that there were cameras everywhere, so in the off chance that Mamoru ever watched surveillance footage, she waited until she was in a cab two blocks away to let loose.

Her cabbie freaked out when she screamed so loud that he slammed on the breaks and her head smashed against the back of his seat, but it didn't matter. She'd apologized to the driver and yelled into her book bag instead, not caring that it probably wasn't muffled enough, and proceeded to wave her hands in the air like she was high-fiving an entire crowd. _His face had been priceless_!

OMG. If he knew that she had absolutely nothing to do right now he would probably kill her! It made her feel all warm and bubbly inside knowing that he wanted her to stay but also tickled her funny spots because she wanted the same thing. All of it and more.

Once she was home, she spent the majority of her day sprawled in bed, mostly fantasizing but also deep in thought. It had been very bold of her to leave him. She didn't know how he could have reacted and she'd taken a huge risk by acting so cool and aloof. She still didn't know where she had gotten all that confidence from but what the heck! Although it wasn't how she usually was, maybe she could pull it off for a little longer—at least until she was sure about what her and Mamoru would be doing.

And that was the question running on her mind the entire day. What was the next step? Could she safely assume that this would be a regular thing for them? She couldn't. In fact, it would be the most delusional thing she could do because Mamoru was a very important man with a heavily scheduled life. Only once she started hanging around Cass did she really come to understand the pressure, the expectations of the life of a VIP—and Mamoru and Cass weren't even on the same boat. Cass was on a raft with no life vest while Mamoru was on a yacht that turned into a spaceship. She had a small grasp of what he was about, but she didn't actually have a clue about what was going on in his life.

What was portrayed on the media (at least the media she was familiar with) was purely superficial and only his social life after midnight on the weekends. What was he doing for the other 15ish hours of his life five times a week before that? She didn't know. She only had to guess that he spent a good amount of time in his office since it was furnished comfortably enough to be livable. The rest of his time was probably spent at private events, like Rei's father's fundraiser thingy that Rei had told her about, but those were just her guesses.

All she could hope for was that Mamoru had a clear schedule this weekend because she was _so_ ready to meet him again. There was one thing in particular that she'd been craving from him the entire summer and she could _not_ wait to get it… But she was getting quite a few steps ahead of herself. First things first, she needed to break up with Ichigo.

That was priority number 1. All of Tuesday, after her amorous rendezvous, she'd been on cloud nine, but as soon as she woke up the next morning to get ready for school, she came crashing down into reality. She'd cheated on Ichigo.

Worst of all, not once, not a single damn time, did she feel guilty for her encounter with Mamoru. In fact, she'd had the exact opposite reaction, but not once had it crossed her mind to stop… Yes, she was a horrible person.

The good thing was that she now had the perfect reason to break up with him. Before she couldn't muster up the courage, but now that she knew that there was a high chance of her and Mamoru fooling around, there was no way she was going to waste her time with Ichigo. Still, that didn't mean she was going to _like_ breaking up with him, but it had to be done and she had to do it gently; Ichigo was too much of a good guy for her to be nasty about it.

Staying home from school on Wednesday (for a 'personal day' as she'd told her father when he'd asked), she thought up of the most painless break up plan and decided that she would do it first thing the next morning. She was going to go with the whole 'it's not you, it's me' thing. Lame, she already knew that, but who cared. She just needed to get it over with. It was going to be easy and after she did it, she would be able to move on to more important things like, _how she was going to call Mamoru_.

On Thursday, two whole days since she'd seen both Mamoru and Ichigo, she walked into homeroom early to find that it was just her luck for Ichigo to not be there. And that he wouldn't show up until after the end of second period. With a gift. For her.

"What do you want to do this weekend, Usa?"

She didn't answer because she was still staring at the gift in her hand. It was a keychain of two felt white bunnies hugging. Where their faces were supposed to be was instead a picture of her and Ichigo making silly faces. It was the cutest thing _ever_. Fuck her life… How could she have forgotten that today was their three month anniversary?!

"You said last week there was a movie you wanted to see," Ichigo prompted and she finally cleared her throat. He had waited for her to get out of her class to give her this and a note that she was too afraid to read.

"I don't remember."

"Well, we could do whatever you want," he smiled. "Do you like it?" She nodded and pulled out her keys from her backpack, clipping it on.

"I _love_ it." She hugged him and slipped the letter into her textbook to read later. Now what was she supposed to do?

"You're welcome." He kissed her. "I saw it and thought of you."

They were at the end of the hallway where there were only two classrooms and were decently secluded from the bustle of the rest of the student body trying to prepare for next period. She could tell him right now without causing a scene and no one would even notice what was going on. She'd be done with him once and for all. But… she just couldn't do it.

_Ichigo_… Why did he have to be so thoughtful and cute? He was making this so much harder for her. Ichigo leaned over to kiss her again and the worst part was… that she wanted to stay there with him. She wanted to hold him and kiss him back and thank him for being a better boyfriend than she deserved. So she did just that.

* * *

***Usagi***

"Let's do something today, now."

"Right now?" Ichigo looked at her skeptically.

"Yes, now!" she urged. Please let him say yes… "I don't want to wait until the weekend. We'll leave now and hang out at your house."

"I still have classes after lunch, Usa…"

"So do I! Who cares! C'mon Ichi, don't be such a punk. _Please!_"

It was the beginning of 4th period and senior lunch period. It had been exactly an hour since Ichigo had reminded her that it was their anniversary today and she'd had exactly one full hour of tortuous math equations being thrown at her while she dealt with the biggest problem of all. _Her life_.

Ichigo had flung a wrench into her plans and she wanted nothing more than to pick it back up and whack him over the head with it. Guys! Why were they making her life so complicated? And to top it all off, Diamond had texted her this morning asking what she was doing this weekend. Geez! It's like they all had perfect timing! She didn't bother texting him back since everything was complicated enough with two guys.

Besides, this weekend she was _strictly_ booked with Mamoru. They weren't official plans yet since she still hadn't talked to him, but she planned on calling him tomorrow (she was going by that guy rule to wait for 3 days to avoid sounding too desperate) to ask when they could meet up. She hoped he wasn't busy or else that would suck, but all she could do was cross her fingers and hope that everything worked out. Now all she had to do was convince Ichigo to have their date tonight and not Saturday just in case.

"How about we go tomorrow evening?" Ichigo suggested as they walked towards the cafeteria.

"No. You know I meet with the girls at the spa on Fridays."

"Well, cancel with them. I'm sure they'll understand. You girls see each other enough." She turned the other way to avoid showing him how annoyed she was.

"I want to go today, Ichi, please." She needed to make this happen! "We could leave now and you can make me those famous ramen noodles you've been telling me about…" Ichigo perked up a bit. "We'll have lunch then hang out a bit until dinner time. It'll be so much _fun_."

"My dad will be home in an hour…"

"That'll be enough time for us." He gave her a sideways glance. She knew that he wouldn't be able to resist.

"Fine, but let me tell Keigo to tell the teacher I feel sick before we go."

"Yeah me too! I'm going to go to tell Mako to sign me in to study hall. Meet you outside!" She kissed his cheek and sprinted off to find Mako. She was so glad that had worked! Finding Mako at their usual spot, she pulled her in to an empty classroom and closed the door.

"Hey, Usa! I was just coming to get you," Mako said. "I feel like we haven't talked in ages. Let me tell you what happened to me and Rei Monday night, it was so-"

"I need you to do me a favor," she went straight to the point. Mako stopped talking. "Can you sign me in to study hall next period? It's in the library and the teacher puts the attendance sheet up by the library sign-in. Trust me, no one will notice."

"You're leaving early again?" She nodded. "Why?"

"Ichigo and I are going on a date."

"Oh! Cute. I'm so jealous! But I can't help you. I have gym and they'll lock me out of the changing room if I'm late. Sorry."

"No! Please! I know you can run fast!" she begged. "I _have_ to be signed in today. I missed that class all this week. I need you!"

"Why have you been cutting the entire week?" Mako asked. "Don't tell me this is your routine with Ichigo? You guys are that horny that you can't wait until school is over?" Mako chided. "The janitor's closet on the 3rd floor is always empty. Use that."

"I wasn't always with Ichigo. I haven't been able to make it to that class, I don't know how, but that's just how it ended up happening this week. Please Mako-chan! Just help me!"

"Now I'm suspicious," Mako said scrunching up her nose. "Tell me what you've been doing and maybe I'll consider it."

"You're the worst!" she whined. "_Please Mako_. You can't do me this favor?" She was desperate now. Ichigo was waiting for her and she had a small window during lunch period that she could actually leave the building.

"So, tell me why didn't you come yesterday and why you left early on Monday and Tuesday. If you weren't with Ichigo, then who?" Mako started whispering. "Don't tell me it was to meet Diamond?"

"No!" she hissed, mad that Mako wasn't going to budge without her talking, but glad she could finally tell someone, "Mamoru…"

"Oh. My. Goodness. Why didn't you tell me?" Now Mako was whining. "Usa! You guys hooked up again? Now I'm even more jealous! How the hell are these guys all over you and I'm stuck in the damn friend zone? I can cook!"

"Oh _now_ you want to admit you like Max?"

"This isn't about him!" Mako amended quickly. "But why do you need to leave school now anyway if you're seeing Mamoru? We all know Ichigo isn't your first choice here. Dump him already. It's the easiest solution. Rei and I have been telling you this for weeks."

"I know! This morning, I swear to you on _anything_, that I was! I _really was_-!"

"But?" Mako interjected. "Why didn't you? And now you're sneaking out of school with him. You know that makes no sense, right?"

"Look at what he gave me today." She pulled out her keys and gave it to her. Mako smiled at the picture shaking her head sadly.

"This is _adorable_."

"And it was right before I was going to talk to him." Usagi covered her face. She had no idea what to do.

"Bad timing," Mako sympathized. "You have the worst luck."

"I do. But listen to this, today's our anniversary and I didn't even know!"

"Double whammy!" Mako laughed. "Poor guy…"

"I feel so horrible."

"You should! I mean, you're going to break his little heart." The way Mako said it made them both laugh. Oh my… she was the _worst_.

"You can't tell Rei about this," she begged. Ever since what happened with Chad, Rei trusted no man with suave grin. "She'll go crazy if she finds out about Mamoru!"

"Of course I won't tell her," Mako laughed. "She'll kill you!" Usagi shivered. "Especially since you're the cheating whore. She'll show you no mercy."

"I _know_!" she sighed. "So will you sign me in?" Mako reluctantly nodded.

"You could still do it though," Mako tried. "You should cut it off now before he finds out. I still think that's what you should do."

"I'll do it next week," she promised. "I can't do it right now, I just can't."

"You're only making this worse for you," Mako shrugged, giving up. Usagi grabbed her bag before leaving.

"Trust me, I know."

* * *

***Motoki***

The waiter had just finished seating him and Reika down for dinner when he heard a familiar voice. He looked around and saw Mako taking the order of the couple to the table on his left. She was nodding as she wrote everything down, assuring the request of the couple for their extra everything. He knew that she'd been working at famous restaurant, but he had no idea it was this one.

Before he was able to turn his attention back to Reika, Mako noticed him. She smiled and made her way over. Realizing his distraction, Reika frowned with questions she didn't get to ask as Mako approached.

"Furu-san!" Mako exchanged with their current waiter before smiling at Reika. "Hello. It's nice to meet you."

"Hello," Reika answered stiffly.

"Makoto," Mako introduced herself.

"Nishimura."

Mako nodded, not looking offended that Reika didn't care to give her first name despite Mako's overt friendliness. He rambled to kill the awkwardness.

"I didn't know you this was where you worked. Max has probably mentioned it a million times, but I had no idea. Are you covering for someone?" From what he'd heard she was an assistant chef, not a waitress.

"Oh, yes. Someone's on break and it's been kind of empty today." She shrugged, laughing. "I'll be serving _you_ tonight." He could feel Reika's eyes on him.

"Nice change," he agreed. "By the way." He knew he would regret asking in front of Reika, but it would be rude not to. "Did you and Rei make it out okay the other night?" Mako nodded enthusiastically.

"It was so funny," Mako recalled. "Rei's hat blew away as soon as we stepped out, but we still managed to pass by a few security guards. We went to the movies afterwards. You should have come with us."

"I'd like some water," Reika said without looking up from the menu.

"Sure thing." Picking up on the heat radiating from Reika, Mako quickly put her notepad away and stepped back. "Anyway, enjoy your meals. I'll bring your waiter back."

He wanted to tell her that she didn't have to but Mako was focused on getting the hell away from them. And he couldn't blame her. Reika looked murderous. Mako wasn't even a table away when Reika placed her napkin onto her lap and rolled her eyes.

"Are all your friends teenage girls?" He refrained from answering the question and prayed that this wouldn't be the thing to ruin their night. "It's weird. You should hang out with people your age."

"Like Mamoru?"

"Like _adults_," she clipped. He sat back, watching as their original waiter returned to fill their glasses.

"We're not that far apart in age, Reika." He understood she had meant between him and Mako, but it applied to them as well. Although she was just a few years older than him, at times they seemed worlds apart. Reika took a drink from her cup, averting her eyes.

"Sometimes I wonder if we want different things," she sighed, "and if we can really stay together."

"Reika…"

There was a long pause before Reika released a huge sigh and apologized. He knew this was one of her biggest concerns in the relationship and while similar thoughts often haunted him, he told her what he told himself.

"It's okay to feel that way," he insisted, reaching for her hand over the table. "We're in different places right now, but that's not a bad thing. We don't have to be the same person to be together."

"That's true." Reika gave a small smile. "It's better that we aren't. To be honest, I like you more."

"I have to agree." She squeezed his hand tightly in rebuke, but then pulled it to her lips and kissed his knuckles. And just like that, those nasty, insecure thoughts just disappeared. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

Their night went on smoothly, their dinner praised highly by probably the toughest food critic (and the most inexperienced—Reika was always asking for recommendations). Though he tried to expand her palate by taking them out to different restaurants throughout the city, she only had one that she consistently loved going to, maybe two now. He was glad that they'd come out tonight.

"So how do you know her?" Reika asked about Makoto.

"She's been a regular at the arcade for years. It's her, the one you met at the office, Usagi, and a few others. She's a really talented girl. She was recommended as an apprentice to the head chef here and I think she's one of the youngest in the city." Reika raised her brows, impressed.

"Remarkable." Reika scrapped the last bit of sauce off of what had been a plate of foie gras. "Do you think she made this?" It had been his suggested plate and her favorite dish of the night. She'd even ordered one extra to go.

"Maybe," he shrugged. "We could ask one of the waiters."

"Because if so, my compliments are endless. What was it, chicken?" He stood up before he had to answer it. Just last week she had made them stop at the park to throw bread at the migrating geese and it would be their stop after dinner as well. Excusing himself to the bathroom before he laughed, he left her in charge of his wallet to pay the bill and coat check. Hopefully she didn't ask the waiters.

By the time he'd returned to the table, it had been cleared and Reika was nowhere in sight. He walked to the coat check and found her near the exit talking to Makoto. He hurried over. As soon as he reached them, it seemed that his anxiety had been unwarranted. They were in a light chat and caught in laughter before he'd interrupted.

"I had no idea Motoki was so afraid of horses." Makoto was giving him the devilish grin, like she now knew a powerful secret. "Interesting." He looked at Reika, wondering how that subject had even come up. He'd been gone for less than 5 minutes.

"Broke his arm riding when he was young. 'Traumatized' was the word he used, I think." Both girls laughed.

"Oh no." He laughed along, slightly embarrassed. "Don't remind me. I'll have nightmares tonight." Mako giggled again.

"See what I mean," Reika teased. "Well," she bowed out, "have a good night." Makoto bowed as well.

"You, too. It was great meeting you."

Both girls smiled amicably before leaving. They may have started on a bad foot, but it seemed that all was well that ended well. He waited until they were in the car to ask about how the conversation started with Makoto.

"You didn't tell me I ate a goddamned duck, Motoki." Reika stared sadly at her goodie bag on her lap. "It was incredibly delicious though…"

"That's the circle of life for ya."

"Oh, shut up," Reika ignored his joke. "I just wanted to know if she had made it. I freaked out a bit when she told me what it was, but realized that it wasn't that bad so as long as it wasn't a horse. Then she told me that she loved horses too and we talked about riding." He nodded. That conversation seemed safe enough.

"And was she the cook?"

"No. She said she had other tables. She did invite us to some special event next week. I think the restaurant is having a special menu contest. She didn't really explain it, but wrote the date down on a napkin for me. We'll come, right?"

"Yes, of course. I'm glad you two talked. See, she's not so bad."

"I never said she was," Reika insisted. "It's just that I can't trust these women around you so easily. You're _my_ stud."

"Ew, Reika," he teased as they drove away from the restaurant. "Stop it with your nasty horse jokes!"

"You're sick," she laughed, but then kissed him anyway, and they continued their date at the park where with guilty amusement they fed the geese some of their kin.

* * *

Sigh. Relationships can be so complicated...

-CattyKitty


	10. Chapter 9 - Save Me

_CattyKitty_

Hey everyone! I'm so sorry that this chapter is late, but I had a crazy weekend. Enjoy!

BTW- I'm just kidding at the end! He'll be _fine_.

Also, _always practice safe sex_. It's no joke. Protect yourself. You CAN have fun without being reckless, so wrap it up!

(Standard disclaimer: I do not own any of the Sailor Moon characters of which I am writing about. This story is an original that I wrote for fun and without compensation. All characters belong to Naoko Takeuchi.)

Two More Weeks

**Chapter 9**

**Save Me**

***Mamoru***

His phone had never looked more intriguing before in his entire life. Sure he had over 200 contacts and countless apps that could entertain him for hours, but he'd never checked his phone for missed calls more than he had in the past 48hrs.

Why hadn't Usagi called him already?

Ever since she left his office he couldn't stop thinking about her, more specifically, what they'd done, and he knew that it was spelling out his doom. He'd gone into their lunch date thinking that he'd be the one trying to bait her in, but clearly the roles had reversed.

He had to figure out a way for him to get back into his position of power and soon. His very masculinity was depending on how he handed this situation and right now the cards were not in his favor. He wanted her and she knew it—and that right there was the problem. She had the upper hand and there was nothing at all that he could do about it.

So he decided to call someone who had more experience with these types of situations. Who else would know more about how to deal a dominating woman than the only man who seemed to attract them all? Motoki. Although things were still complicated between them, he felt that this could be the perfect way to patch things up.

Outside it was the ideal fall weather. It was barely 5pm and the sky was already turning dark, though the breezeless night didn't let it feel too cold. He and Motoki were planning to meet by the reservoir near Motoki's apartment and were probably going to walk around it while they talked. He didn't feel like being indoors today and hoped that the fresh air would help quickly resolve whatever issues they still had between them.

"Hey," he greeted Motoki after he joined him.

Motoki nodded his head, falling into sync with him as they started their way around. Neither one said anything and he knew that Motoki was waiting for him to speak. Mamoru was the one that brought him out here so he knew that he had to be the one to apologize first, but that didn't make it any easier.

"It sucks the way things have been lately," he said simply, hoping for Motoki to agree.

"I don't like it either," Motoki admitted. There was a long pause, neither one knowing how to continue from there. They didn't exactly do this often.

"I know I haven't been…"

"Whatever, it's fine," Motoki sighed. "You weren't the only one. I've been avoiding you, too." They walked a little more in silence but the tension was finally gone. Now that their apologies were over, they could move on. "So what was it that you wanted to talk about?" Motoki prompted, his arms going up above his head in a relaxed stretch. "What's new?"

"I talked to Usagi," he started. "You were right; she and Cass… a partnership made in hell." Motoki grunted. "But it's nothing too important. I was with them a few days ago and they didn't say a single bad thing about you."

"Fabulous." Motoki yawned and he decided to cut to the chase.

"Usagi came back to the office. We hooked up again."

"Hope you two had a great time," Motoki replied. "Doesn't. Concern. Me."

Clearly Motoki was still upset about his argument with Usagi, but he couldn't be serious. How could it be that a single discrepancy would stop him from being Usagi's guardian angel? He and Usagi had been arguing for years and look at them now, lovers practically, but he was glad that at least now Motoki understood why he couldn't stand her for so long. She knew exactly how to get under your skin.

"You can do whatever you want with her. I'm not getting involved in whatever you two have going on. I really don't care anymore."

"Well," he continued, going back to the topic at hand, not caring whether Motoki wanted to hear him or not. He needed to share his momentous occasion. "We went raw."

"First of all," Motoki started, suddenly interested in the conversation again, "you sound like a complete failure." He rolled his eyes. "Secondly… about time. I always told you that you were doing it wrong."

"Yeah well, she said she was on birth control and I just went for it." He rubbed his temple in embarrassment. "I _completely_ underestimated the difference."

"Tsk. Tsk." Motoki was shaking his head. "I can't believe it took you this long to figure that out. Honestly, I thought you'd been lying to me all this time just so you could look like you were better than me, but yeah, I guess you weren't, you loser." Motoki was laughing at him, but he deserved to be made fun of. He was a dumbass.

He'd always heard his friends talk about how condoms sucked and of course he believed them. A tight, rubber barrier would undoubtedly loose at least a little sensitivity, but he hadn't understood just how much. The difference was night and day and now that he finally knew that, there was no turning back. Which only made it all worse.

The problem was that he was Chiba fucking Mamoru. He didn't have the luxury of finding a girl to fuck that he trusted enough to believe when she said that she had everything under control. The amount of money that they could suck off of him by having one of his children! The thought alone made him gasp for breath. He couldn't even bear to think about it.

He'd seen the stupidest things happen to his gullible friends all the time and they were the reasons why he'd been able to abstain from acting brash all these years. Yes, it would be so easy to give in to the urge to go condom-less, but gold diggers were everywhere and if he wasn't careful, he'd be losing millions for a cheap cum shot. His money meant everything to him and he refused to lose a single coin to some whore with a get-rich-quick scheme.

"I'm surprised she let you do it. How could she trust _you_?"

"I'm perfectly fine," he muttered, irritated. Someone as sexually active as he had to visit the doctor regularly and he'd gone just a couple of weeks ago (one could never trust foreign women). He was squeaky-clean, as always.

"I'm just saying," Motoki laughed. "It can happen to the best of us."

"Well, you maybe. That's not so surprising, but not me. I'm always careful," he insisted. "I can't afford not to be."

"I've only gotten chlamydia twice, _fyi_," Motoki said snapping his fingers, but it wasn't even a joke. He knew Motoki had gotten chlamydia before, but he couldn't believe he'd caught it again. "But at least I haven't been having fake sex my whole life. How many years have you wasted?"

"You're a fucking idiot." He'd always known that Motoki wasn't a consistent condom user, but he couldn't believe that he was still so reckless when it came to stuff like this. "I don't know how you could take those risks…" he said shaking his head. "I couldn't deal with the thought of my dick falling off. I would die."

"It does burn like hell when you pee." Motoki shivered thinking about it. "It hurts so bad…" He couldn't stop laughing at Motoki's expression. He deserved it for being so stupid. He was just lucky that he caught something curable.

"Serves you right," he joked. "And people always think you're the wiser of the two. If only they knew."

"No one's perfect," Motoki shrugged, laughing at his own misfortune. There was nothing wrong with making light of a bad situation—as long as they learned from them and he _really_ hoped Motoki had learned his lesson. "It was just a little bad luck. Trust me, it won't happen to me again."

"It better not because I would be so ashamed of you if you died from bloody penis warts." They both laughed, hoping that it would be neither of their fates.

They were a quarter around the lake, the lovely night welcoming a variety of joggers. A group of young girls went past them in a giggling gaggle and he quickly pulled his hood over his head, hoping he wasn't recognized.

"So what about Cass?" he asked finally, knowing it was the elephant in the room. He knew that Motoki probably didn't want to talk about it, but they had to sometime. "Are you going to speak to her?"

"You too?" Motoki sighed, the strain in his voice making it apparent that it wasn't a topic he wanted to talk about. "What the fuck am I supposed to do? Call her up and say I'm sorry that Reika isn't her?" He could tell that he'd put him in a bad mood, but he still felt like being honest would be the best solution.

"You know how I feel about Reika. I'm always going to take Cass's side on this."

"But say it wasn't Reika, say it was some other random girl, any girl, that you were indifferent to. Would you feel the same way? Would you still think that I'm supposed to be with Cass no matter what?"

That was a good question. Was he only agreeing with Cass because he hated Reika or did he genuinely believe that Cass and Motoki were meant to be? He already knew the answer before he finished asking himself.

"You and Cass are like a trend…" he said carefully, trying to formulate concisely what he thought about them together. "Sometimes styles come back so you never throw out those clothes."

"You think that I need to keep her in the back of my closet? Is that what you're saying?" He nodded. "So the day I feel like throwing on a vintage tee, I'll just pull it out from storage? I can't believe she thinks you're her friend," Motoki said disgusted.

"I mean…" he trailed off, not liking how Motoki was making him feel guilty. "I don't know what the right thing to do is and I'm not here to judge you. I'm just telling you that in the ultimate smack down between Cass and Reika, Cass will always win."

"Let's be honest," Motoki sighed, "there aren't a lot of people who could compete with her anyway. But say I take your advice. How do you suppose you keep a woman like Cass tucked away like last season's fashion?" That was the stump. It was impossible. Cass wouldn't let herself get ignored for long. "So you see the flaw in what you're saying?" Mamoru nodded reluctantly. "My point is that anything with her would be too complicated. There's no way."

"Because she can't be the main girl or the side piece…" It was like a revelation had just come to him.

"_Exactly_." Motoki just kept nodding vigorously, glad that they were finally on the same page. Now he finally understood what he was talking about. Holy shit. Poor Motoki.

* * *

***Motoki***

"I care about her so much…" There was that natural pause that came with his words and it indicated that there was a 'but' somewhere in there. But he couldn't think of one (except Cass's butt).

"_But_?"

"I care about her a lot. That's it. There are no 'buts'."

"Then why are you still with Reika?"

"There are a lot of reasons."

"Tell me—and I fucking swear I will shoot down each and every one of them." Jed had been right. Mamoru was passionate about getting rid of Reika.

"You wouldn't understand," he sighed. There was no point in arguing with Mamoru. He didn't like Reika so there was no convincing him. Also, one could never underestimate Mamoru's powers of persuasion. It was better that they changed topics.

"That's right. I don't understand you. There are things that Cass will do to you that I doubt Reika ever heard of before, things that she couldn't even _imagine_. What more do I have to say?"

Sex with Reika was still very guarded … but that wasn't the point! It made him so angry when Mamoru thought he knew everything. Relationships were not only about sex (which was why Mamoru was never in one) and until Mamoru started to genuinely care about someone, he refused to have this exchange with him. It was like trying to get a child to comprehend something way over his head.

They walked on in silence and he didn't know how to pick up the conversation again. They had just made up and he didn't want it to become weird again, but he was about to loose his cool if Mamoru didn't stop looking at his phone. It made him feel like he was dying to leave.

"Are you busy?" he asked and Mamoru quickly put his phone away, shaking his head.

"It's just…" Mamoru sighed. "This _bitch_ was supposed to call me."

"Who?"

"Usagi."

All tension he previously felt towards Mamoru flew out the window. Usagi? He was _sweating_ Usagi? Now that was truly hilarious!

"Wow!"

"It's just to hook up again, calm down." Mamoru's disgruntled attitude only made him laugh harder. "_Wait_." Mamoru stopped walking and stared at him in epiphany. "You have her number." He grinned, wondering what Mamoru would do if he said no. "How didn't I think about that before?" Mamoru muttered to himself, cursing. "Give it to me."

"I don't have it," he laughed, but Mamoru actually reached over to swoop into his jacket pocket and pulled out his phone. Now this was serious! He really wanted it.

"Are you going to be seeing her?" he asked, knowing that they had this conversation before.

"I haven't decided yet," Mamoru said offhandedly. What a liar. Even as Mamoru copied Usagi's number to his phone, he looked like a kid with a candy bar. "Why? Any words of advice?"

"None."

"Good." Mamoru put his phone away and passed his back. "Because you've lost credibility with me anyhow."

"Just for that, I do have something I would like to say." Mamoru grunted. "Watch out for Usagi." He thought back to their argument at the arcade. She had been determined. "I don't think she'll be playing the same game with you."

"She's easy to manipulate."

"Says the guy that just stole my phone from my pocket to get her number."

"You're forgetting that she's like 12 years old," Mamoru snickered. "She barely understands what's going on. I can keep her exactly where I want."

"That's what everyone believes at first. You think that it'll be easy, but trust me, that's how it started with Cass. And look at me now. I'm still thinking about her."

"I'm nothing like you."

Had Mamoru never heard of karma? Using Kunzite as the perfect example, no one would have guessed that he'd be so serious about Mina since he was most unaffectionate person they'd ever met. Though they seemed incompatible, they brought out a better side of the other and that's what it was about. Whoever you were with should always make you a better person, at least better than if you were alone. Mamoru didn't know that because he wouldn't allow himself in such relationships and why he didn't understand anything about him and Reika.

"You'll never get it," he sighed.

"No," Mamoru clipped. "I get it. There's just a difference in how we approach things. I go in with a goal, accomplish it and move on. You go in as a dreamer and let things flow on their own, wherever that may be. That's your problem, not mine. If you can't figure things out with Cass that's because you let things get complicated."

While a small fraction of him understood Mamoru's view, he didn't appreciate the honest thoughts at the moment. Fuck Mamoru. He didn't know anything anyway. Feeling like he needed to have the last word in, he addressed Mamoru on a serious note because it was one thing that he really needed to concern himself with.

"Considering the fact that you have no privacy, Usagi could get you into a lot of trouble." He really wanted to stress the importance of his discretion. "Just don't forget that. It'd be a rookie mistake to worsen your reputation for someone you refuse to take seriously."

"I can guarantee that whatever I do with Usagi will not be even half as retarded as what happened between you and Cass. Nor as illogical as you and Reika. So don't worry about me. I know how to keep things under control."

He rolled his eyes. They'd gone back to being enemies again without even meaning to. Despite both their bad tempers, they continued on their walk to allow their tension to simmer down.

The park was empty now, the plethora of joggers seemingly vanishing as the night grew darker, colder. They were on their second go around the reservoir and he knew it would be their last round. Reaching the halfway mark, they suddenly heard a loud shriek. It was up ahead at the bend of the path and he and Mamoru moved briskly until they were able to see what was going on.

Only 20 yards away from them was a large brown grasshopper the size of a full-grown man. Standing on two of its hind legs, it searched a nearby tree. Its shiny, black pincers raked the ground, leaving green slime in its wake. After a moment, it zoned in on a fat squirrel a couple of feet in front of it that was trying to hide its winter stash of nuts in the base of the tree. In a flash, it pierced the small critter with its claw and shoved it into its gaping hole of a mouth, the occasional crunch of bones being the only sound they heard. That is, until it turned to look at them, shrieking again into the night.

"What is that?" he yelled, stepping backwards. He had seen youma on the news before, but never in person. That thing was hideous!

Mamoru hurriedly pulled him by the lapel of his jacket and dragged them back a few yards into the trees that lined the perimeter. The only light that reached the area was a tiny sliver of moon. The street lamps near them were either broken or flickering and Mamoru used it to his advantage to transform.

The insect was still where it had been originally, its head cocking to the side curiously, probably wondering whether it should chase them or not. The moment Tuxedo Mask stepped from the shadows it made up its mind and used its creepy insect legs to crawl all the way to them with surprising speed.

His heart started pounding, but luckily he was ready. His fight-or-flight instincts had taken over and he was ready to book it! He looked around him frantically and realizing that there was no safety in the empty meadow behind him, he quickly made his way up the tree to his left.

When they were younger, he and Mamoru would have contests on who could reach the highest, but Lizzie always beat them both. The last time he'd try to out climb her, he ended up falling 20ft to the ground, breaking his ankle. He hadn't climbed a tree since. Still, the feel for him was natural and he easily found his footing on the ridges of the bark, grabbed onto steady limbs and sat on a shelf. He moved some branches aside and looked down onto the battle.

He watched his friend beat the oversized insect with his cane and wished for Mamoru's sake that it could somehow turn into a giant fly swatter because he was doing absolutely no harm to the creature. Thankfully, Sailor Moon arrived only a few minutes into the fight and at first looked on surprised (and confused) at seeing Tuxedo Kamen fighting the mutant insect, but quickly got up to speed. Coming at it from a different angle, she tried distracting it away from him and moved so that it chased her into the far side of the park.

It worked, and in no time it was chasing her into a large field of rocks and fallen branches. The youma was fast, but she was able to it dodge easily. Still, it came at her with ferocity and let out shrilling pitches of frustration as it tried to capture her, causing Sailor Moon to cover her ears with both hands. After seeing her barely manage to dance around a particularly large tree stump, Tuxedo Kamen, knowing that it would only be a matter of time until she tripped over something, moved in to help her.

When he grabbed her arm, she jerked it back, tossing a fearful glance over her shoulder. After giving her a moment to realize that it was him that had grabbed her and not the youma, he moved to grab her again, even though she was doing just fine over the rocky terrain. Tuxedo Kamen then, not having realized that the youma was so close to him, jumped suddenly and in an attempt to elude a venomous pincer, spun around to avoid an attack. Sailor Moon hit the ground hard as his shoulder jammed straight into her chest.

He knew that Mamoru hadn't been in a fight in a while, but still. Goddamn! He knocked the wind out of her and he could see even in the distance her eyes bright and wide in panic as she struggled to regain her breath. She was doubled over on her knees, clutching her chest and stomach as she desperately tried to gulp in air.

Seeing her on the floor, the youma lunged for Sailor Moon, but she was able to luckily move out of the way, taking a high leap backwards. She landed somewhere out of view, Tuxedo Kamen going immediately to her rescue and he couldn't see either one of them anymore. With them both being out of his sight, he panicked and decided to move closer to make sure they were both ok.

He jumped off the tree and landed down rougher than he'd anticipated, letting out a grunt as he smashed onto the ground. It was a mistake. The animal's head jerked to face behind it and despite their ridiculous distance from each other, focused squarely on him. It probably saw him as another, much larger, juicy squirrel. He poised his legs to run, but found that he couldn't. So he just stood there frozen like an idiot as the pincers extended their way to him, aiming straight for his heart.

* * *

Run Forest, run! Lol

Review if you don't want Motoki to die! Muahaha!

I'm jk! ;)

He's going to die regardless.

-CattyKitty


	11. Chapter 10 - The Call

_CattyKitty_

Sorry I wasn't able to update last week. I'll try to have 2 more updates by next Friday, so please be patient with me. About the auras—try to stay with me. It's my interpretation of how their powers work and yes, Usagi and Sailor Moon's are different because I consider Usagi embodying different values when she transforms. I really hope I don't have to answer too many questions about this, but I promise that I'll try to make it clearer in future chapters if I have to.

I want to thank everyone for the reviews. I really appreciate the feedback :) Hope you all enjoy.

(Standard disclaimer: I do not own any of the Sailor Moon characters of which I am writing about. This story is an original that I wrote for fun and without compensation. All characters belong to Naoko Takeuchi.)

Two More Weeks

**Chapter 10**

**The Call**

***Mamoru***

Sailor Moon was still panting on the floor from when she'd jumped back to avoid an attack. He'd resisted the urge to help her this time and instead tried to focus on taunting the youma away from her until she recovered enough to give it the final blow. But there was a problem. The youma was thankfully no longer targeting a recuperating Sailor Moon, but at something else in the distance. And he knew exactly what.

He really didn't even have to think about it before he went into a quick form of action. Sweeping down from his perched light post, he ran as fast as he could toward his target, tackling Motoki out of the way with so much force that they both went flying at least 15ft into a mossy clearing behind them.

He rolled over quickly recovering, but he could tell that the impact had left Motoki in a daze. He stood and helped him up, holding him by the shoulders when he noticed him wobbling on his feet. Motoki brought a shaky hand up to his head but seemed otherwise fine and gave him a weak smile.

"You saved me…" Motoki was in disbelief and it offended him that he had so little faith. Of course he would never let anything happen to Motoki.

He looked on as Motoki brushed himself off and was relieved to know that he'd been helpful to at least one person, still feeling bad about his rookie move that caused his collision with Sailor Moon. He still couldn't believe his terrible judgment call on that one, but it had been her resistance to his help that had thrown him out of loop. Usually she would be the one practically jumping into his arms for him to save her, but when she'd readily moved away from his grasp, it had caused some temporary confusion on his part. It had been as if she didn't want his help.

He and Motoki stood on the sidelines watching as Sailor Moon finally made her way into their sights and quickly finished off the youma with her tiara. Wiping slime off her leg, she gave them a short sideways glance before leaping away.

"She looks like Usagi," Motoki said after she'd vanished in the distance.

"I know." They both laughed. Wouldn't that be the most hilarious thing ever? Usagi as Sailor Moon! MUAHAHA. What a joke.

"They have the same eyes, and even scream the same." The wheels in Motoki's head were spinning, trying to find impossible connections. Connections that he'd dismissed long ago. He untransformed in the bushes again and started their walk back home. He knew that it wasn't smart to be seen with Motoki in case she returned, but he doubted that she would. She seemed to be in a rush.

"Give me a break," he muttered, annoyed that Motoki was being serious. "All girls her age sound the same."

It was the truth. Schoolgirls all had similar pitched tones. Honestly when Usagi and Rei along with the rest of their friends all talked in a group, he could barely discern which on of them was speaking. The same went for Cass and her sisters. Even Mina had reminded him a lot of Usagi at times. But he doubted that Sailor Moon's voice would ever be a clue to her identity anyway because even Motoki told him that he sounded different when he was transformed. He wouldn't doubt that the same applied for her as well.

"They do have different hair. Usagi's goes to a little past her shoulders, but Sailor Moon's is so long. Unless," Motoki thought brilliantly, "she's wearing a wig!" He shook his head, doubting it.

There had been a time where Sailor Moon had gotten a good couple of inches of her hair singed and she'd literally started crying until one of the other Senshi promised to take her to the salon for a hair treatment. If it had been a wig, she wouldn't have cared. No, that was her real hair. And he had pulled Usagi's hair enough to know that hers was real, too.

The only thing left to solve was that they just plain looked alike, but even that wasn't concrete evidence. A lot of people looked alike. Mina and Usagi for example. Then there was him and Sapphire. They weren't even related, but their resemblance was undeniable. So that was his main argument to that. Sailor Moon could be anybody. But not her.

"Sapphire could be my stunt double," he said, hoping to shut Motoki up about the subject.

Honestly, he didn't care too much about secret identities. What he was concerned over was agenda. What was Sailor Moon's mission? The Senshi's purpose? That's what mattered. For all he knew, they were all clueless girls unknowingly being used as pawns in someone else's mission. Or secret spies _disguised_ as clueless girls trying to overthrow government. He just didn't know enough information.

If he truly wanted, he could bug Sailor Moon with a tracking device. It was easy; he touched her enough times anyway, but that was a two-way street. He'd seen some high tech devices on Sailor Mercury that he was sure could easily track him, but they both seemed to have a mutual understanding about crossing the boundaries. Identities were not at all that relevant to him anyway. With his own lack of privacy in his everyday life, he'd realized that everyone was entitled to their own secrets, to have their personal lives respected. Figuring out who she was wasn't his goal. As long as she kept her distance from him, he would do the same. He didn't care one bit about the Senshi.

"True," Motoki answered after having given his reasoning some thought. "But there's just something about… It's almost as if the absurdity of it all is what makes it so plausible." Motoki shrugged, smiling to himself. "What do you think?"

"It's not her." The finality in his voice drew a long glance from Motoki.

"Why are you so sure about that?" Motoki wondered, bordering suspicion.

"Because it's ludicrous," he replied, deciding to keep the secret of his new power to himself. He didn't want to explain his aura sensing abilities to him, especially since Motoki didn't have one.

If he really wanted to find Sailor Moon, all he had to do was find a matching aura. Usagi, while she shined considerably more than the average person, she was still just a pale pink, greyish almost. Not Sailor Moon. She could illuminate even the darkest of places, as she had tonight. This was his first time witnessing it, seeing her with his new powers, and even he couldn't have thought her blinding light possible.

"I know. But how ridiculous would it be if she was? Usagi being Sailor Moon…" Motoki trailed off, coming to the same conclusion he had. There were just so many similarities and it was easy to get caught up in believing it might be someone you know, but this world was made up of too many people. "I wouldn't trust her to save me at all!"

"Tell me about it," he muttered. Usagi was the most incompetent person on the planet. "These poor people would be dying left and right."

"Woah buddy, let's not get too cocky," Motoki laughed. "Or did I not just see you knock Sailor Moon out over there?" Mamoru shook his head. Motoki wasn't going to drop that, was he? "What was that about? Were you trying to be a complete doofus when you rammed into her. Poor girl."

"Yeah, I don't know what happened there," he confessed. "I had no idea that thing was so close to me. I wasn't trying to hit her."

"You didn't even try to help her up either," Motoki said shaking his head. "Bastard."

"I think she was angry," he admitted. "You saw the way she moved away when I tried to help her the first time? I don't know what's wrong with her." He shrugged. Nor did he care. "But it doesn't matter to me anyhow. I have more important things to worry about."

"Like calling Usagi?" Motoki added slyly.

"She's going to have to think twice if she really thinks she going to blow me off," he huffed, splitting away from the path towards his own home.

"Don't forget to ask her if her leg is alright," Motoki called out after him. "And make sure you didn't bruise her chest. You hit her pretty hard." He rolled his eyes. Sometimes Motoki's imagination was just too wild.

* * *

***Usagi***

It seemed like the worst things always happened to her. Why did there have to be a youma attack right _now_? When Ichigo was in her house waiting for her to get ready, when he was sitting in her kitchen table with her father?! The universe must hate her.

And then there was Tuxedo Kamen. Where had he even come from anyway? She hadn't seen him in ages and he suddenly showed up now? That jackass. Didn't he realize that she didn't need him anymore? She hadn't needed his help in months and she certainly hadn't needed him now. But going by his actions, she rubbed her chest soothingly, he was just as confused being there. He should have stayed in retirement.

She had come to understand a while ago that she controlled the bond between them. It had little to do with whether she was in danger or not, it was simply whether she was truly afraid and if she was, he would come. It wasn't instantaneous because he wouldn't just poof before her, but since she would usually start every battle scared for her life, by the time she needed him the most, he had already arrived. That ended this past summer when she'd overcome those fears. Striving to become better Senshi, her mindset changed and she no longer needed saving. She no longer needed Tuxedo Kamen.

Still the question boggled her every time she saw him. Who was he? She'd only heard him speak once in her life and other than that, she'd never seen his full face, never stared him in the eyes, she'd never touched his bare hands. It was frustrating because she'd never had any type of connection with him, he always avoided her, well, maybe not avoided, but he was incredibly indifferent and she'd always wondered why he saved her because he never looked like it was something he wanted to do. It had probably been an obligation for him and she was just glad that she'd been able to cut him off. She didn't need him doing her any favors, especially when he was not interested in getting to know her.

She only knew a few things about him. The first fact being: He was a man. That was almost solid evidence, but hey, they were all magical here so there was still a possibility that he was a polar bear. But for the sake of being reasonable, she would hold true all things that applied to her and the Senshi. So that would remain: Tuxedo Kamen was assumed to be a man. Age: unknown. Height: super tall, probably over 6ft tall. But then again, his stupid hat could be creating an illusion of his stature that may not be necessarily true. Facial features: he might as well be wearing a ski mask because those goggles/lens/glasses, whatever they were, sealed his vision from her and the eyes were really the main focus when try to recognize someone.

All she had left to go on was his hair. It was black, _but_ holding the same rules that bound her and the Senshi, his hair might not even look like that in real life. Her hair and Sailor Moon's were different lengths, as with Ami and Sailor Mercury. Ami had let her hair grow out to shoulder length, while Sailor Mercury permanently rocked the boyish bob. They learned that whatever they looked like when they first transformed, that was the permanent look of the Senshi as well. The Senshi's entire outfit was an illusion. Their suits (and boots!) uncoiled like ribbons when they untransformed, so it only made sense that their hair would follow the same rule and would change back into whatever it looked like previously.

She could assume that Tuxedo Kamen looked the same as his alter ego, but that probably wasn't the case. He couldn't be that dumb. Tuxedo Kamen could be anybody. He could look like anyone. She had zero suspects on her lists because 1- she didn't have that much time to stalk him, but mostly 2- Luna and Artemis had commanded all the Senshi to drop it. They wouldn't explain why, but just said it wasn't one of their main concerns at the moment.

Still, all she could think of were guys. Motoki, whom she was just glad was safe. Tuxedo Kamen, the useless mime, who had by some miracle managed to save Motoki (which was weird because he'd never saved anyone that wasn't her before and there had been _plenty_ of times that the other Senshi were in danger, but whatever). Her father, who she prayed wasn't going bananas on Ichigo. Ichigo, who she hoped wasn't getting freaked out by her crazy father. And then of course there was Mamoru, but she was thinking about him for many different reasons, none of them worth mentioning.

What she really needed to concern herself with was getting home quickly so that she could finish getting ready. Worse yet wasn't that she needed to re-shower just to take the muck off her legs, it was the thought of what her dad was saying to Ichigo… Oh goodness, she needed to run faster!

She untransformed a block away from her house and ran through her backyard. She was wearing a stupid dress, but thankfully no heels and moved as fast as she could without knocking over any of her mother's flowerpots. Leaping to her window, she climbed into her room and rushed into her bathroom to get ready.

When she finished changing clothes, she went downstairs and she saw Ichigo sitting nervously next to her father on the dining table. Both were silent and facing away from each other. Beyond awkward. Surprisingly, her father looked more anxious than Ichigo.

"You're back," her father sighed. Something in her stomach churned at his excessive relief.

"I was just in my room getting ready," she reminded him. He couldn't have known she was gone, could he? She forced herself to push away her paranoia about her father knowing she was Sailor Moon and turned to Ichigo, putting on her coat. "Let's go." Ichigo stood up quickly, following her out the kitchen with a curt nod to her dad. Her father finally turned to his normal annoying self after he noticed Ichigo reach for her hand. He cleared his throat.

"You said you two are going to dinner?" Her father stared at Ichigo hard.

"Yes, sir."

"Then you have two hours. It doesn't take that long to eat. It's already late." He didn't wait for a reply and walked to the door, grabbing Ichigo by the shoulder. "Two hours." She rolled her eyes, prying her father's hand off and pushing Ichigo out the house.

"Good _bye_." She slammed the front door behind them. What was wrong with her father? Two hours? What an old fart. Although she hadn't originally wanted to go out with Ichigo tonight, she was still glad they were. Ichigo had been sweet enough to bring her a box of chocolates when he'd come to pick her up and she felt bad that he had to deal with her father. If only she hadn't run off to into battle he wouldn't have had to endure so much parental protectiveness.

But thankfully, that was all done with; she couldn't keep dwelling on things she had no control over. They took a cab to the restaurant (since Ichigo had gotten too lazy to cook for them earlier) and it was a cute hole-in-the-wall with intimate seating. They waited half an hour to get a table, but according to Ichigo, they served some of the best ramen. He was right.

"Before I forget," Ichigo started after their food had arrived. "I saw Naru today on my way out. She said to tell you hi."

"Oh, ok." She pulled the noodles out of her soup, blowing them.

"You two used to be really good friends," Ichigo said carefully, sipping some of his hot broth. "What happened?" She shrugged.

"Nothing, really. Since she's been dating Umino, we've just talked less." Ever since the summer, she felt like she had been sidelined for Umino. "I guess when you have a boyfriend, things are different. She spends all her time with him."

"I wish you would do that for me."

She stopped eating. Ichigo was smiling at her playfully, but he was not kidding. She felt horrible.

"It's different with Rei and Makoto," she said. "We've always been close and we like to see each other often. Especially since we all have memberships to the spa. I'm telling you, that place is amazing. If you could see how it was inside you'd understand."

"It must be amazing if it keeps you away from me so often." She nodded, looking down at her soup. Why was he so good at making her feel guilty?

She looked at her phone beside her plate knowing it was one of those bad habits her generation shared to put electronics on the table. It was ringing, but the restaurant was too loud for it to be heard. It did however shake her cup as it vibrated. She looked at the caller: Momo. She stopped breathing. She had no friend named Momo… but it was the name in which she'd stored Mamoru's contact information under. She looked at Ichigo, panicking since he was staring at the screen waiting for her to pick up.

"It's fine," he said, urging her to take the call. "I don't mind." She snatched the phone and got up so quickly, she almost knocked her chair over. "Where are you going?" Ichigo asked, wondering why she was leaving.

"I don't think I'll be able to hear anything in here. I'll be right back!" She was so glad that it wasn't a lie and rushed out the packed restaurant, rudely pushing past a few customers that were waiting by the entrance. She picked up as soon as she got outside and hoped he hadn't hung up. "Hello?"

"Odango." Oh my goodness. It _was_ him. How had he gotten her number?

"Mamoru?" she whispered. He sounded a little different over the phone and she just wanted to make sure. Why was he calling her for?!

"You forgot about me already?"

"Of course not!" she almost yelled. He chuckled. Dammit! Where did her coolness go? The street was small and she walked a few paces away from the front of the restaurant. Taking a few deep breaths, she leaned on a parked car, hugging herself to keep warm. She needed to keep it together.

"I'm glad to hear that." How could he sound so smooth even over the phone? "The way you left the other day made me wonder if you were trying to run away from me."

"I told you I was busy," she reminded him, smiling to herself because he still sounded angry about it.

"Are you busy now?"

Her heart started pounding. He had tried to mask it, but she totally heard it. Hopeful. He was hopeful. He wanted to see her _now_? What should she say? Immediately she wanted to blurt no, the answer was no, she was not busy. Not busy at all.

She looked back at the restaurant window and stomped her feet. But she really was. What was she supposed to say? Yes? No? This was the biggest pickle of her life! She really _really_ wanted to see him… She could rush her meal with Ichigo and leave straight from here. She could meet Mamoru in as little as 15 minutes. She could do it. She was going to do it. She took a deep breath.

"Yes," she finally said. "I am." She covered her face in shame because she knew what she really wanted. She wanted to dump Ichigo right here, right now, but she forced herself to stay committed for at least the day. Besides, how much trouble would she get into if she didn't make it before her curfew.

"Such a shame," Mamoru answered after a long pause. "Listen." She pushed the phone closer to her ear, waiting anxiously for his next words. Was he mad at her? "I'm not going to play games with you." She stayed quiet on the line. "I won't chase you."

"That wasn't-"

"Next time I see you, _Usagi_," he whispered her name menacingly, cutting her off. "You're going to regret leaving me."

Shocked, she remained silent on the line. Well if that wasn't the sexiest threat she'd ever received. A bit abrupt and probably overdramatic, but hot all the same. Who ever said Mamoru didn't know how to be charming?

"First of all," she recovered, trying to match his forcefulness. "Seeing as you're the one that's too impatient to wait for my phone call, maybe you should consider being a little nicer to me, Mamoru," she goaded. "Especially when I have something you really want."

"Tell me where you are," he growled, "so I can go over there and beat your ass." She pulled the phone away from her face and covered her mouth so he wouldn't hear her laugh. He was so _aggressive_!

"As much as I would love that," she teased, "I told you already that I can't." She took a deep breath. "How about Saturday?"

"I'm busy." Her heart sank. Well there went that. She was just glad he couldn't see her expression… "I'm kidding. Pick a time." The twitch in her eye wouldn't relent. If she could punch him through the line, she would. Didn't he understand just how nerve-racking it was for her to ask him out? That was not funny.

"4'oclock, jerk. But I'm really considering making you wait longer."

"No, don't do that," he laughed. "I'll pick you up at your house. Don't be late."

They hung up and she paced around a few times, dreading her return to the restaurant. She wanted to go home and sleep for the next day and a half so she wouldn't have to wait so long for it to be Saturday.

Dragging her feet back towards the restaurant, she forced herself to cheer up. She had so much to look forward to. Right now she was about to finish eating a delicious meal with her sweet boyfriend and on Saturday, she would go on an even better date and have the wildest sex her body could handle. She was so _lucky_. It was such a shame that they couldn't be the same guy, but hey, she rubbed her hands together to warm them. There were some details in life that weren't worth getting worked up over.

* * *

Mmmhmm! Honey badger don't care!

-CattyKitty


	12. Chapter 11 - Dinner From Hell

_CattyKitty_

Hey, hey, hey! Huge shout outs to the reviewers! Thank you so much for the support! To mention a few: Athena, smfan4ever72, babyofthe80s, DrummerAnimeNerrd, My-Crazy-Awesome-Sox, freakblueangel, silverm00nangel, Polevault Princess, mi-makoto-chan, mandii-xo, LostGirl22, Katalina Dosay, nightandday, Lunakid, LenaJones, Andreea, Larisa Chelaru, Gloria Santos. And none for Gretchen Wieners! ;P

I'm so glad that you're all enjoying the story. To answer some of your comments, I honestly haven't figured out what to do with Ichigo yet. He could either take the news like a wounded puppy, or he could lash out in school, to her classmates, to the _press_. I don't know. We'll find out together. And I completely agree that Mamoru needs to step up his game and work harder for Usagi, but will he? Cross your fingers!

I'm working diligently on the next few chapters because I think it's what you're all waiting for. However, getting the characters set up into certain scenes takes me a little longer than usual, so don't hate me if I take a while. Chapter 12 will be up soon, but classes have started again for me so I'm not sure how regularly I'll be able to update.

Hope you all have a wonderful Friday!

(Standard disclaimer: I do not own any of the Sailor Moon characters of which I am writing about. This story is an original that I wrote for fun and without compensation. All characters belong to Naoko Takeuchi.)

Two More Weeks

**Chapter 11**

**Dinner From Hell**

***Motoki***

He couldn't believe that of all the days, today he was late. Dinner at his parent's was about to start and he was still at least 10 minutes away. He was driving as fast as he could and hoped that they'd wait for him before eating. There was a lot at stake for him tonight and he didn't want to start off on a bad foot.

Hopefully, his mother and Mamoru were still in her office discussing business and hadn't started serving yet. His family tried to come back at least twice a year to work out new business models with Mamoru and the last time they'd seen each other was for Lizzie's graduation back in May. A lot had changed in CINC since then and they had a lot to catch up on. He just hoped that they didn't ask for Cass.

His family knew Cass, but had always thought that she was involved with Mamoru due to a picture they'd seen years ago of them leaving a club together. They all decided it was best to let his parents believe what they wanted, since at the time it had been easier to lie to them than to explain the reality of their relationship. The consequence was that his parents both fell in love with Cass the minute they demanded to meet her, his mother especially. Whenever they came to visit, she would always ask Mamoru for her—even though he'd always tell her that they'd broken up ages ago. While they never acted any differently then they did normally, his parents just assumed that Mamoru and Cass were the on-again, off-again type couple since pictures of them would always resurface in the media, and they would insist she come to dinner anyway, becoming a beloved family guest.

Since Mamoru rarely ever had a real girlfriend, Cass came along with him whenever she could. Every year, his father would try to understand Mamoru. 'A woman like her you flaunt,' he'd say, in attempt to convince Mamoru to stop keeping their relationship a secret and come out officially as a couple. It never bothered him that his parents thought they were together since it was always the funniest joke to them. Especially since his parents never got the obvious hints they'd drop about how they only posed for pictures in order to fool them.

He loved it when Cass came to his family dinners. She'd always make everything much more fun and everybody, including Lizzie—who didn't like anyone—would be fighting to hold a conversation with her. They would play charades after dinner (whoever was on Cass's team always won) and he knew that Cass loved coming over just as much because she'd never had the chance to do that with her own family.

Thankfully, he knew that Cass wouldn't be here today because Mamoru wasn't that much of an asshole to bring her along (like she would come anyway), and so he was taking this opportunity to introduce Reika to his family. He wasn't trying to make his relationship with Reika bigger than it was, but he just figured that he could appease his family this once. His mother was always complaining how he never introduced them to his girlfriends and getting her to shut up was something he'd wanted to do for a long time. Maybe that wasn't a good enough reason to bring Reika, but what could he say. Even after so many years of living on their own, the influence that their parents had on him and Mamoru was pathetic.

He finally pulled in to his parents' estate and drove up the driveway to the front of the house. The butler was waiting for them at the entrance and quickly took their coats as he ushered them inside. He told them that everyone was already seated at the dinner table, but that no one had been served yet.

When he and Reika reached the dinning hall, he noticed that Lizzie was also there, which was a nice surprise since he hadn't seen her in months. She also had a date with her, which he wasn't too happy about and took note to question the guy later. Right now he had a more pressing issue on his mind—because even more surprising than his sister's date, was Mamoru's. _Cass_.

His heart sped up when she looked up at him as he walked to take his seat, but her eyes quickly jumped to stare at Reika. He gulped. WHY? Why was this happening to him? He glared at Mamoru, pissed beyond measure. Why would he do something so spiteful? They just made up and had talked about this yesterday, so why would he think it was fine to bring Cass over tonight.

As Mamoru looked back at him, he knew that this hadn't happened purposely. Mamoru appeared just as frazzled being there and he realized that Mamoru had probably forgotten about tonight's dinner until last minute. It happened to him, too. It wasn't until his mother called him an hour ago that he'd scrambled to get ready in time. But Mamoru could have at least _called_ him. A freaking phone call would have saved him all this bullshit—but then he remembered: his phone was dead. He forgot to charge it last night. Goodness, his life was ridiculous.

He pulled out a seat for Reika and sat down next to his mother since Lizzie was sitting next to their dad. He greeted his parents and introduced them to Reika and everyone politely said hello. She smiled at all of them and he could tell that she was overwhelmed by how many people where there. He had promised her a much smaller gathering.

"You have a beautiful home, Furuhata-san," Reika complimented and he relaxed. Reika knew how to be charming when she wanted and hopefully if they both ate fast enough, he'd be able to excuse them before dessert so they could high tail out of there. Talk about what an awkward dinner this was going to be.

"Thank you, dear. My husband designed this home for us way long ago," his mother said, staring at his dad from across the table. "Isn't that so?" His father looked up from his conversation/questioning of Lizzie's date, (Seiya, he'd overheard) and gruffly nodded before continuing his interrogation.

"This is going to be an interesting night," Reika whispered after their food arrived. He nodded at whatever Reika had said, not feeling particularly talkative. He wished that he hadn't been seated across from Cass; it was so hard trying to avoid looking at her.

He attempted to pick up a conversation with Mamoru, who was seated directly across from him on the other side of his mother, but he was busy engaging himself in a hysterical conversation between Lizzie, Seiya, Cass and his dad. His mother—never one to enjoy being left out of a conversation—cleared her throat and got everyone's attention immediately.

"Cass," she said warmly. "Please tell me more about your spa. I hear that it's going so well," she prompted, taking a sip of her drink and waiting patiently for Cass to elaborate. Everyone focused on her as she put her fork down and smiled widely.

"It is," she started and he couldn't stop himself from staring at her as she spoke. This was after all, the first time that he's seen her in a long time.

She wore an off-the-shoulder maroon blouse, her hair in a ponytail. He couldn't stop his eyes from admiring her creamy collarbone, remembering how she loved getting bitten there. He forced himself to look away; he had to stop being so inappropriate. Especially since his girlfriend was sitting right next to him, not to mention, currently holding his hand under the table.

While Cass continued talking, he focused on observing everyone at the table around him. Seiya was currently staring at Cass, enthralled by her story and not so much her looks (which was quite impressive). Not even his father was that honorable. Lizzie, for whatever reason, had the nastiest grimace as she stared at him and he had to wonder why. He narrowed his eyes at her, raising his shoulders in question. What was her problem?

"_Motoki_!" Reika hissed lowly, pinching his arm under the table. He winced, turning his attention back to her. "_Pay attention_!" He looked around the table and indeed someone must have asked him something that he hadn't heard.

"I_ said_," his mother repeated, "that you told me that you wanted to remodel the Parlor Shop. You should have Cass do it. I saw what she did to Mamoru's offices and the spa brochures look wonderful."

He didn't know how to answer that because he would have to address Cass directly and she hadn't said a thing to him this entire time. Even now she wasn't looking at him, instead choosing to check her cuticles. He couldn't explain why, but he wished that she would look at him, even just for a split second. That's all he wanted. Maybe if they could have some eye contact, then perhaps he could convey just how truly sorry he was—about everything. He couldn't stand her hating him.

"I don't think so," he said, hoping that it would get her to look at him to retort. Unfortunately, it didn't work, but it got everyone else around him to stare.

It had been meant to sound like a joke, but his forced tone made it more malicious than he'd intended. Why those had been the words he'd chosen to utter, he couldn't say, but it was safe to admit that it was the stupidest sentence to ever come out of his mouth. Everyone around the table gave him the evil eye and even Reika looked ashamed to be sitting next to him. Mamoru was tight-lipped, but didn't look at him as the rest of the table turned on him. His mother gave him a withering glare.

"Was that supposed to be funny? That wasn't funny," she deadpanned, looking disgusted. He looked up into the heavens. _Please,_ _someone help him here_! Why was everything against him today?

"I was just kidding," he said weakly. Cass gave a short, forced laugh, trying to ease the tension, but it was too late. He'd already been called out as the villain.

"It's fine," Cass said with a bitter smile as she tried to calm his mother down. "He's always had a twisted sense of humor."

And _that_ was his cue for him to die. His life was already over.

Cass hated him, that much was clear, but it was how much it hurt him in return that was astounding to him. The throbbing in his chest was unrelenting. If a girl had left _him_ for four months because she couldn't handle being in a relationship suddenly returned with a boyfriend in tow… he would have thought it was a sick joke, too.

"Cassie…" he pleaded, his throat tightening when she continued to avoid looking at him. Why wouldn't she look at him? "_I'm_ _sorry._"She had to know just how horrible he felt, for everything that he'd done to her; she didn't deserve any of it. "I didn't mean for it to be like this… I didn't mean to hurt you-"

"Fuck off," Mamoru commanded, ending his apology. "Just _stop_."

"I'm trying to _talk_ to her," he snapped, losing it. "Mind your own fucking business!"

"Boys!" his father yelled.

He forced his mouth closed, biting his cheek before he said anything more. He quickly opted out of jumping over the table and punching Mamoru simply because he knew he'd probably scare Reika away, but he'd never wanted something more badly. He took a deep breath and leaned back in his chair, trying to let his frustration simmer away before he did anything stupid. Oh, he'll drop it now, but he couldn't wait to get Mamoru alone after this.

"How did you two meet?" His father addressed him calmly, trying to save the night from going sour.

"There was an Environmentally Responsible convention, orsomething," he answered, already forgetting the place he and Mamoru attended back in Hong Kong. "Reika was one of the speakers."

"Really? That's interesting!" his father exclaimed and he refrained from rolling his eyes at his fake enthusiasm. "Are you originally from Hong Kong, Reika-san?"

"No, I'm from Tokyo as well, but I've been studying abroad for a few years."

"What are you studying?" his father continued even though he didn't care, but he was glad for it either way. The more his father talked, the less chances there were of there being any awkward silences. He wasn't sure that this night could get any tenser, but he wasn't ready to find out.

"Archaeology," she said. "I've always loved history, especially Egyptian." Reika and his father shared polite smiles. She may not be as hip to the social scene as the rest of them were, but he was proud that she represented the least superficial person in the entire table.

His parents were in France supposedly 'experimenting with cuisine', but he really knew that they were only over there to sip wine and cross things off their bucket-lists. Lizzie was 'studying' to be a fashionista and Cass wasn't any more different since she was a certified socialite that the tabloids followed around to every one of her fake events. Mamoru was a corporate shark and Motoki was doing much of the same thing: a whole bunch of _NOTHING_ for anyone else. At least Reika was studying to do something that left behind valuable education for the rest of the world.

"Reika graduated summa cum laude," he couldn't help bragging. His mother perked up.

"So did Cass," Mamoru added with a frown. His surprise left him awkwardly stuttering. He did not know that.

"As did I," his mother added. "That's very nice, Reika." She looked at Cass and then at Lizzie. "There's a table full of great women here," she mocked the guys. "Lizzie, we have high expectations of you." Lizzie grunted. "The two of you?" she continued with Lizzie and Seiya.

"We met at school," Lizzie responded, looking at Seiya. They were grinning like idiots.

"I'm the creative director for the Theatre of Performing Arts in Paris. I've lived there since I was 10 when we moved there from Osaka," Seiya said. His mother squealed, completely enthralled, and finished off the rest of the conversation in French. When she asked Lizzie something even to his untrained ears Lizzie's response sounded nasty. "I've been trying to improve her_ French,_" Seiya helped and Lizzie started giggling immaturely while everyone else looked on amused (everyone except their father).

His parents then turned their attention to Cass and Mamoru. Cass, who had been smiling at Lizzie and Seiya's antics, flushed. She turned to Mamoru, who looked bored, and waited for him to answer the unasked question. Mamoru grabbed Cass's hand over the table, brushing his thumb over her knuckles.

"We're getting married."

"Oh, Mamoru! Koan!" his mother gushed at the news and even his father had a huge grin on his face. He couldnot believe how his parents had not detected the obvious sarcasm in Mamoru's voice. Even Mamoru looked like a deer caught in headlights as his mother went on. "We're _so happy_ for the both of you!"

Cass looked at Mamoru and covered her mouth in laughter, finding it all hilarious. That joke on his parents would never get old, but he didn't find it very funny at the moment. Mamoru shrugged and wordlessly mouthed 'I tried' (to cheer her up, he assumed), smiling along with her. His mother took their silent language as something else completely.

"OHMYGOODNESS! He's asking her to marry him _at the table_!" his mother yelled, clapping maniacally.

"How can't they see that he's lying?" Reika muttered, refusing to even look Mamoru's way. "As if he's ever been with the same girl for more than five minutes. Pathetic." He ignored her.

Mamoru covered his face with his hand and Cass tried to laugh it off, but failed horribly. Finally, after his mother had suggested all of the possible locations for where she thought that their wedding should take place in Paris, Cass was finally able to breathe, but her face was still red. She held her hand up to stop his mother from talking.

"He was just kidding, Miaka-san," Cass clarified. His mother's smile left immediately. She looked around the table confused, waiting for someone to explain it to her.

"What do you mean?" she asked, jabbing her thumbnail into Mamoru's hand resting on the table beside her. Mamoru winced in pain and cradled his injured limb, hiding his smile from her. "Are you _lying _to me, Mamoru?" He looked hesitant to nod, but did, and he was glad that he was no longer the hated one at the table.

"He was joking," Cass said slowly. "We're just friends." She looked at Mamoru, grinning. "Barely even that." His mother huffed, clearly ruffled up from the false happy ending, but didn't say anything more and just glared at his father from across the table as if she couldn't believe her children were doing this to her.

"I'm _GAY_!" Seiya blurted and everyone turned to look at him.

Suddenly, as if she were a brewing volcano, Lizzie erupted into vicious laughter that apparently she'd been holding in all night. Seiya followed along and even Cass too. Everyone else just looked at each other awkwardly, waiting for a plausible explanation from any one of them.

"We're roommates!" Lizzie said in between laughter, looking at Seiya. "_Idiot_!" she muttered, before bursting into fits of giggles once again. "It's just that kaa-san said that everyone else had a date," she pouted, "and I didn't want to be the only person without one." His father beamed at the news.

"When you first walked in here, I wanted to _scream_!" Seiya was ecstatic as he turned to Cass. "Because I _just_ saw you on the new December issue of Vanity Fair and I had to force myself to _shut up_ because _DUH_: straight guys don't know anything about that!" Seiya had said that way too fast and now he understood the look of admiration in his eyes as he had watched Cass earlier. He was gay, _of course_. "When I saw you layer those titanium and periwinkle pashminas, I went out the very next day and bought them! You're such a _trendsetter_!"

What the… Seiya was worse than Cass! Not that he had any idea about what he was talking about, but he was almost sure that he was going to be Cass's new shopping buddy.

"And what about you?" his mother asked him and he looked at her confused. "Are you lying, too?" she asked, referring to him and Reika. At her question, everyone stopped what they were doing anticipating his answer. He could feel himself burning on the spot, feeling guilty admitting to anything, but Reika was waiting for him, his mother was waiting. Cass was waiting.

"No," he said. "I'm serious." Intertwining his fingers together with Reika's, he looked down at his plate. Out of these three women that were staring at him, there was only one that he wished he hadn't just lied to. And that truth was the worst of all.

* * *

***Mamoru***

As soon as dinner finished, he and Cass excused themselves from the table and roamed around the house a little before ending up in his old bedroom on the second floor. He knew that she was upset about tonight and wished that he hadn't gotten carried away by Miaka-san and brought her along; he could have avoided this whole gathering. Figuring that Cass might want some alone time, he was on his way out to leave her when she called him back in.

He walked over to where she was standing by the windowsill and sat next to her. She immediately threw herself into his arms the moment he put his arm around her shoulder and before he knew it, she was buried into his chest. He rubbed her back gently, hoping to make her feel better about whatever was on her mind. Their relationship did not usually consist of them consoling one another and it was a little weird for him to be in this position, but he did want to be there for her, he did want to make her feel better.

She was holding onto him tightly and he smoothed over her hair comfortingly. Cass finally looked up at him, tears brimming over the edge of her eyes and it freaked him out. This was not what he was used to. She wasn't supposed to be like this; she was like them. She was like one of the guys (albeit a very sexy one) that was immune to guy troubles and was always the top player. She wasn't supposed to be crying over Motoki.

"I really thought that things had been going *sniffle* great. I really believed that Motoki and I *sniffle* *sniffle* were going to spend the summer together… But *sniffle* he just _left_ me…" Cass sobbed miserably.

He looked down at Cass's depressed face and couldn't help but feel like it was all his fault. On multiple levels. Firstly, taking Miaka-san's harassment to heart, he went against his better judgment and brought her along. But before that, and worst of all, _he'd_ been the one to convince Motoki to leave her in the first place. He had selfishly ruined her chances at something that he _knew_ she'd wanted for a long time just because he hadn't wanted to go alone on his trip. She would never speak to him again if he admitted it, she was already completely heart broken.

"Am I not _pretty_ *sniffle* enough? _Smart_ enough?"

Cass was neither a crybaby nor insecure, but if Motoki made her feel all those things then she was definitely messed up. His heart ached watching her like this and he was willing to do anything to stop her from crying, but he felt powerless. He knew that Motoki still cared for her, but how could he prove it to her?

"_I love him_," she whispered, her hysteria subsiding momentarily. "Have you ever loved someone?" she asked him, tears still streaming down her face. "Probably not," she answered for him, "but even you have to imagine how I must feel seeing him with someone else. I feel like I'm dying inside."

Her words made him feel even more miserable and it seemed like he had no choice but to tell her about what had happened before they left in June. Maybe if he disclosed that Motoki had really wanted to stay with her, then she'd feel a little bit better.

"Cass, babe, it's okay." He kissed her forehead, hoping to soothe away her worries as best he could. "I know Motoki loves you too, he's just confused right now," he said, trying to put everything as lightly as he could, but she shook her head cynically.

"He doesn't care," she whispered. "If he did, then he'd know how I feel right now. He wouldn't let me go through this if he _really_ loved me." She started sobbing again and he sighed in frustration. She was completely right; he could only cover Motoki for so much. But he had to try anyway.

"I had to beg Motoki to come on the trip with me," he admitted. "He didn't want to leave because he said that you two were going great." She looked up at him. "He hadn't wanted mess up what you had going on."

"So why did he still leave?" she asked, staring at him intensely, waiting for the next words to come out of his mouth that would explain her misery. He hesitated before continuing. He didn't want her to hate him, but he just couldn't leave her in the dark. He had to tell her that Motoki left because of him, not her.

"Because I told him…" he started and she looked at him expectantly. "I told him that you'd always be here when he got back." He held his breath as he felt her tense in his arms.

"What?" she asked confused.

"It's my fault," he said pitifully. "He didn't want to go, but I convinced him. I told him to come with me because you'd still be here waiting for him no matter what. He really wanted to stay, but I made him leave… you." She stared at him, not believing what she'd just heard. "I'm sorry," he apologized, but he knew that it probably wouldn't mean much to her now.

They stayed in silence for a few moments before she jerked herself out of his arms. Her face was even redder than before, but the tears had stopped—she was that angry with him. She looked betrayed and he had this stinging feeling in the back of his throat; he felt so guilty.

"I'm supposed to _wait_ around for him?" she bit angrily. "While you take him on your little adventures because you can't go anywhere without him holding your fucking hand the entire time?" The amount of hatred that he saw in her eyes scared him senseless and he swiftly moved out of arms reach. He had the feeling that her hand was just itching to come down on him. "Do you even care about what you did? You know what's been going on between me and Motoki and I can't believe that you go that far to keep him away from me." She looked like she had a million more things to say, but apparently couldn't speak anymore out of resentment and stormed away from him, furiously slamming the door on her way out. It was moments like these where he hated himself.

Thankfully, the Furuhata's were ending the night earlier than usual and he knew that it was due to the fact that the rest of the family felt the hostility going on in the house. They all said their farewells, but no one dared asking him where Cass had gone. He was sure that she was probably waiting in his car to avoid everyone since just one look at her was obvious enough to know that she'd been crying.

When he got outside, his car wasn't out front and he knew that Cass must have left already. He normally wouldn't have had an issue with that, _if_ it hadn't been that he'd asked her to hold on to his keys in her purse. Now he had no ride and no way to get inside his apartment. He cursed his bad luck.

Off to his left, Lizzie and her friend were climbing into a black sedan, cackling like it was nobody's business. He didn't have a ride but he cringed at the thought of being stuck with those two gossiping teenage girls for the 45-minute drive. He would have to pass; he'd rather wait for Motoki—despite at how annoyed he was at him for acting so rude toward Cass.

As much as he'd rather take a cab, the last time he'd called one out here it took half an hour to arrive and there was no way he was going to stick around for that long. He and Motoki hadn't spoken yet after their outburst during dinner, but he walked up to him and Reika while they were exiting the house. He was in no mood to spare details about Cass dumping him, so he just asked him for a ride to her house. If tonight was any other night, he wouldn't have stressed it and stayed in a hotel, but he had meetings tomorrow and he needed things from his apartment. Hopefully he could get his keys back from her tonight.

"Where did your _friend_ go?" Reika asked him after they had all climbed into Motoki's SUV. He really didn't feel like talking, but knew that Motoki would be pissed if he ignored her. Even though he could care less about Motoki's feelings at the moment, he felt like he had sufficiently embarrassed him at dinner.

"I don't know."

Thankfully Reika took the hint and didn't try to pursue a conversation. He pulled his phone out and called Cass, letting it ring on speakerphone and hoping that Motoki would get an earful of what their argument had been all about. He needed a damn wake up call.

"Why are you calling me?" Cass asked after she picked up on the third ring.

"You have my house keys." There was a moment of silence.

"Too late," she responded. "I threw them over a bridge through the car window." He took a deep breath.

"I'm going to pass by to pick them up."

"Don't bother," she clipped. "I'm not going to be home."

"Then where ar-"

"Don't fucking worry about it!" she roared and hung up. He sunk his head into the back cushion of the seat.

"You can crash with us tonight," Motoki offered. "I'm sure she'll be more reasonable tomorrow." He wanted to laugh; Motoki should know better than anyone that Cass did not forgive easily.

"No," he scowled. He didn't want to stay as a third wheel in his apartment. He'd rather stay in a dirty motel than sleep anywhere near that conniving whore in his front seat.

He texted Cass, but as ten minutes passed, he had already lost hope of her responding back. He tried calling her again, but she let the phone ring without picking up. He sighed. She was being so _difficult_. He understood that she wasn't ready to forgive him, but he just wanted his stuff back.

Motoki's phone was charging in between the two front armrests and reached over to unplug it. Motoki noticed, but didn't say anything and Reika looked at him questioningly, but also stayed silent. He knew that it was wrong to try to get Cass to talk to him by using Motoki's phone, but it was his only option right now. He needed to get home.

He looked up her number on Motoki's phonebook and dialed. It went straight to voicemail. Damn. He hadn't been counting on that. Cass must _really_ not want to talk to Motoki that she was actually hitting ignore to his phone calls. He tried a couple more times, before he finally got sick of hearing "You have reached… "_Cass_"… Please leave your message after the beep…"

He tried calling her on his phone one more time, resting it on his lap on speaker and expecting to hear it ring over and over again until it reached voicemail. Surprisingly, it barely finished ringing the first time when she picked up. Before he could say anything, she flipped out on him.

"Why _the fuck_ is Motoki calling me for? I fucking swear, you're a piece of shit Mamoru, you know that? A piece of _shit_!" He tried to cut her off, aware that to Reika that probably sounded really weird and random for her to be so mad at Motoki, but it thrilled him at the possibility of the truth coming to light.

"Just give me my keys, bitch!" he yelled because he was already fed up with this whole situation. He didn't even care that he was yelling in front of Motoki and Reika "_My keys_; that's all I want!"

"FUCK YOU, MAMORU! You still haven't even tried to sincerely apologize to me yet and you think I'm supposed to cooperate with you?" He could hear her voice crack and knew she was about to burst into tears any moment.

"Cass, I'm sorry!" he tried. He hadn't meant to sound so harsh.

"I don't want to hear your fake ass apologies!"

"Come on, Cass… I need to go home."

"I have an even better idea. Why don't you _ask_ MOTOKI to stay over at HIS place! I'm sure if you ASK him the right way, he'll let you do EVERYTHING you want!" He closed his eyes as Motoki looked back at him confused. "And while you're over there, why don't you get into bed with him, scooch over _THAT_ _GIRL_ and just FUCK HIM IN THE ASS TOO!"

"Are you kidding me?" Motoki muttered, putting the car on cruise control so he could keep looking back at him. Reika's mouth was wide open, also staring at the phone in his hand disbelievingly.

"But don't worry!" Cass continued, oblivious to her audience. "I don't think he'll say NO to _you_. How could he say no? Because if he can follow you TO CHINA AND BEYOND, I'm sure he'll SPREAD THOSE CHEEKS JUST WIDE ENOUGH FOR YOU TO GET INSIDE!"

"Just calm down!" he yelled, suddenly panicking when he heard a loud truck horn in her background. He really hoped that she wasn't driving this angry. He didn't want her getting into an accident, not to mention, he would die if she crashed his one-of-a-kind car.

"Oh I'm _perfectly_ calm! DON'T YOU HEAR HOW CALM I AM? I was just giving you some advice, you see, but silly me: how could I forget? Mamoru, you're the _KING_ of GREAT ADVICE!"

"Forget the keys," he sighed. "I'll just pick them up from you tomorrow." There was no point in this; it was making everything worse.

"No, it's fine," she said, her voice back to normal, but her relaxed tone worried him even more. "I'll send them over to your lobby tonight." He didn't understand the sudden turn of her mood and waited for her to say something more, but she didn't.

"Cass?" At first he thought she had hung up on him again, but then heard her sigh into the line.

"I don't ever want to talk to either one of you again. This is beyond repair." Then the tone went dead.

* * *

Please review!

-Cattykitty


	13. Chapter 12 – Tease Me

_CattyKitty_

Hey everyone, the next chapter is up as promised!

For anyone that may not have been able to review, that has to do with the fact that reviews remain attached to their chapters. So far I have uploaded chapters 10-14 twice, so if you commented on the first update, it will not let you review the same chapter again even though it is a new chapter. I hope that clears some things up and it should not happen anymore from this chapter on. And thank you so much for those that have contacted me about it. I really appreciate your messages and reviews :) Thanks a ton!

This might be a little random (and by all means, skip this crap because it's not important), but in regards to something minor in the previous chapter, there is something that I just have to get off my chest. If there are any Seiya fans here, stop reading now. I just want to say that I don't like the Starlights, _especially_ Seiya. I hate him. U/M ALL DAY! I hate Seiya so much that even though it would have been easier to make Ichigo Seiya instead, I simply cannot handle the idea of Seiya and Usagi ever being together. I substituted a canon character with a random one, thus sacrificing inherit drama, but it was something that I truly believed had to be done. Seiya is a loser. I don't want him even holding hands with my Usagi! Which is why I'm calling myself out as a genius for making Seiya gay. You're welcome. Now he will _never_go after Usagi! MUAHAHA. But enough on that rant, I just thought everyone should know how I feel about Seiya. I hate him—in case it wasn't clear. I hate him so much.

I'm super sorry about all of that, but I feel so much better now. Smfan4ever72, you're right, we will never see Seiya again. Bon voyage, sucker! Thank you so much for your review, it made me feel giddy that people might actually get what I'm trying to do in the story :) I thank you so much for your thoughts and I hope that as the story progresses, Mamoru also continues to develop in your eyes. I don't want to let you down! He will never be that sweet boy from down the road, but hopefully he'll prove to us that his heart isn't three sizes too small either :P

Well, that's enough I think. You may go on now! Enjoy the story!

(Standard disclaimer: I do not own any of the Sailor Moon characters of which I am writing about. This story is an original that I wrote for fun and without compensation. All characters belong to Naoko Takeuchi.)

Two More Weeks

**Chapter 12**

**Tease Me**

***Usagi***

The moment she picked up Cass's phone call it was clear that she was in a bad mood. She wouldn't tell her over the phone exactly what happened, but she got the gist of it: she had an argument with Mamoru at Motoki's parents house.

Earlier while she, Rei and Cass were both closing up the spa, Cass had gotten a call from Mamoru. He told her that he was picking her up in a half hour and that it wasn't even up for debate. He had forgotten that they'd had a date at the Furuhata's for dinner tonight and that she had to go with him. Cass resisted, complaining mostly about him not giving her enough time to get ready (instead of the logical thing about seeing Motoki), but she rushed home to get ready anyway. That had been a few hours ago.

"Can you come out?" Cass asked her over the phone.

"Sure!" she answered quickly, getting up to start packing an overnight bag because it was almost 10:30pm and she might as well sleep over. "You sound like you're in a car. Are you going to come pick me up?"

"Yeah, I'll be over in twenty minutes. I have so much to tell you." She sounded drained. "I can't believe I wasted my night going over there… I'll call you when I'm downstairs."

Going into the kitchen after she was packed with her things, she set down her bag on the dining table and peered over her mother's shoulder as she prepared her fathers lunch for the next day. Her mother nodded at her request to stay over Cass's and she helped her with the preparations as she waited for her ride.

"You're going where, you say?" Her father walked into the kitchen. She turned around and found him unzipping her backpack and shoving his hand inside, looking for clues to see if she was lying. Rummaging through it, he ended up pulling out her bra and quickly dropped it, looking embarrassed. Served him right for snooping.

"She's staying over at Cass's," her mother replied, causing her father to cross his arms.

"I spy on people for a living," her father warned. She rolled her eyes.

"Spying and journalism isn't the same thing, honey," her mother said mildly.

"Either way, I always find out the truth." He fixed her with a steady glare. "And you," he pointed at her, "are always up to no good." She smiled and went to give him a hug. Oh he had no idea…

"Never!" she cried and her father smiled down at her, holding her tightly. She loved her father but he could be so overprotective sometimes. She let go of him when her phone rang and she grabbed it from the kitchen table without answering, knowing it was Cass. Hauling her bag in a rush, she yelled goodbye over her shoulder.

"See you tomorrow, love you!"

Leaving her house, she walked to her front gate where Cass was already out the car waiting for her. She was waving to her parents behind her, including her love-struck brother who was staring out his bedroom window. It was something she told Cass to do so that her parents saw them together because it played into the illusion of them having wholesome fun, instead of what they really did. Sometimes she wondered if her father went out of his way to find out where she was, but she doubted it because otherwise he would never let her leave the house.

Cass filled her in on what had happened during their car ride. She nodded along because there was nothing she could say to make her feel better. Maybe Mamoru had felt like he was doing her a favor by telling her what really happened, but he only made it worse. It proved to Cass that she'd had a grip of Motoki before he'd been yanked away and worse yet, that she'd been right in suspecting foul play. It _was_ Mamoru's fault. She shouldn't be surprised at how selfish he could be, but it was still disappointing that he wouldn't care about breaking his two friends apart.

"If I'm sober for 5 more minutes, I don't know what I'm going to do with myself," Cass complained once they'd walked into her apartment. Dropping her coat and purse on a chair by the foyer, Cass rushed straight for her bar. She had an entertainment room where one entire side was a glass cabinet with all types of liquor. Cass reached for a vodka bottle while she grabbed lychee sake.

"Let's go out," she suggested after Cass hadn't bothered herself with a cup.

"Like I'm really going to stay here all night," Cass muttered, "of course we're going out."

She followed Cass upstairs into her dressing room and they went on the hunt for outfits. Unfortunately, her search seemed impossible at first since she couldn't fit into many of Cass's clothes. Her petite frame couldn't compete with so much booty and breasts, not to mention, a lot of Cass's clothes was altered just for her. Luckily, she still had many off-the-rack purchases and due to Cass's love of skintight anything, she was able to find a closet of dresses that fit perfectly.

Cass ripped the tags off a red dress with triangular cutouts on the sides and put it on. The neckline made her wish she was a guy because Cass's cleavage looked way too delicious in them. Trying not to be outshone too much (although anytime out with Cass she was destined to be part of the ambiance), she pulled out a turquoise dress that left her entire back exposed.

"Try this one," Cass threw another dress at her after she saw her modeling in front of the mirror. "That one's too demure."

She tried on the new dress while Cass made calls to invite more girlfriends out. Cass was already dressed, arguing on the phone about which club they should head to and she quickly checked herself in the 180-degree mirror inside the well-lit room. When she was happy with her wardrobe, she told Cass, who just nodded since she was still on the phone, and they made their way to out the apartment. As they headed to their waiting taxi downstairs, she asked where they were going and mass-texted the girls to see if they wanted to come. Mako said she would try, but she knew that was a no and Rei said she'd be over in an hour, that she'll call when she was outside. Ami, of course, didn't bother responding back.

When they entered the club through a side entrance, she had no idea that it would be so packed before midnight. There were people everywhere, the heat radiating off dancing bodies a welcome relief from the cold night. It was a struggle just to make it across the room, but somehow they made it to the bar and Cass almost jumped over the counter to get their order in. Immediately Cass walked away, saying something about being right back.

Realizing that she had no cash on her, she got up from her seat and looked around for Cass, but it was no use. It was impossible to find anyone in the crowd and she sighed in annoyance at Cass's hasty departure. She couldn't pay for the drinks by swiping because her father would find out where she was in a heartbeat; he was _obsessive_ when it came to checking her monthly credit card statements. Telling the bartender she had to get her wallet, she excused herself to go find Cass. She had no idea where she went, but figured she'd check the bathroom first.

"I got it, sweetheart." Someone grabbed her arm and she turned around to find a guy in his early twenties at the stool beside her. He called the bartender over again and ordered her another drink. The guy seemed harmless, but she hesitated before taking her seat again. "Rubeus." He extended his hand and she took it. "I see you're here with Koan."

"You know her?" she asked surprised, but tried not to appear too chummy. He could either be an acquaintance or a creep stalker fan of Cass's. She had to be careful.

"I'm Sapphire's brother," he said, sliding the martini in front of her. She thanked him, glad that he was a safe bet and took a sip.

"Oh, so you're the youngest?" she asked. Diamond mentioned something about having two brothers. It was weird how all three of them looked nothing alike. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Usagi."

"Usagi?" he repeated, like it sounded familiar to him. Crap. Did Diamond talk about her? "Tsukino?" She nodded and nervously took another sip. Her hunch was right… Just where was Cass at anyway? She needed to get out of here fast. It would be dreadful if Diamond was somewhere around here.

Rubeus excused himself briefly to make a phone call and she contemplated taking the moment to leave. He had his back to her and wouldn't notice, nor would he find her again considering the crowd. Then it hit her, what if he was calling Diamond over? She stood up quickly. No! She did not want to see him! Suddenly a hand was on her shoulder and she spun quickly, hoping to see Cass. But it wasn't, it was someone so much better. Mamoru. Her savior.

She didn't bother asking herself the million questions of how he'd gotten there, why he was there, what were the chances of him being here, or how he'd seen her. Who cared? All that mattered was that he had perfect timing. She stood up immediately and followed him through the crowd, not caring at all that she'd just left Rubeus without excusing herself.

Mamoru pulled her by the hand as he weaved her through the dance floor, wondering where he was leading them. He was moving so fast and all she could think about was how his middle finger kept rubbing the inside of her palm the entire time. She bit her lip, giddy with nervousness. What was he thinking? They finally came to a stop near an emergency exit and he spun her around in a quick dance move. She laughed and held onto his shoulder for balance.

"Why are you everywhere I turn?" he asked, his hand coming to rest on her hip.

"It's because you're following me," she teased, his hand moving toward her backside. "Just so you can pull me away from guys, I suspect."

"You have a bad habit of staying around men you don't like." He squeezed her ass and she licked her lips. He was nothing if not intoxicating.

"Explains why I'm here with you." Mamoru smirked.

"You don't like me now, Usa?" He stepped up closer, his leg moving in between hers. She shook her head slightly, but couldn't resist his allure. Their faces were so close. "Where's Cass?" he asked, his abrupt change of subject bringing her back to reality

"I don't know where she went." She took a deep breath, attempting to divert from their closeness. "But I doubt she wants to talk to you anyhow." She tried to take a step back from him, but he pulled her by the waist again. "How did you know we were here?"

"I had no idea _you_ were going to be here," he replied. "But it's easy to find Cass. We know the same people." He looked down at her. "Why were you talking to Rubeus?" She couldn't explain why his question made her laugh, but it did. He was so nosy.

"He bought me a drink."

"I can too, if that's what you want." She wanted to laugh again. So _now_ it was about what she wanted? Where had this guy been all this time? "But you shouldn't be drinking," he said close to her ear and she didn't resist pushing herself up against his body. "It's like you enjoy purposely doing everything you're not supposed to…" He thrust his leg further into her and she stopped breathing. If she made a single move, she'd be riding his thigh. "Don't you?" he insisted, shifting his leg again so that it grinded against her. She nodded mindlessly.

"Maybe you should tell me what to do," she mumbled. She couldn't believe she'd said those words, but her eyes were already closed, her forehead pressed against his chest. He made her shameless.

"I'll more than enjoy doing that," Mamoru spoke low into her hair, his free hand wrapping itself behind her neck.

Everything around them fell back and it was just that moment. Around them, it was too loud, too hot and way too crowded, but in this moment she would strip all her clothes off and give herself to him. In this moment she would beg him, _beg him_, for more. She would do whatever he wanted. She would hump his leg like a horny dog and it wouldn't matter if the world saw her. Then she noticed behind them Cass looking around for her, snapping her out of it. Ok, she would totally mind.

"She's right behind us," she whispered frantically.

He moved away and just like that, the moment was over. Mamoru turned around, completely distracted and pulled away from her. Cass hadn't seen them yet and part of her was torn between hating her and hating him.

"I need to talk to her," Mamoru said, turning back to her, "but she'll just walk away from me. Tell her that one of her friends already rented the room upstairs and is waiting for her there."

"Who?"

"It doesn't matter. Say whoever you want. She looks drunk enough to not care."

"I shouldn't tell her anything," she muttered. "What you did-"

"That's none of your business," he clipped. "Besides," he started smiling again, "she always forgives me." Her hands clenched at her sides ready to go, but he held her back. "You got lucky," he said. She pulled away.

"Super lucky," she muttered, stalking away. She was suddenly yanked back fiercely, her back against his chest.

"Don't walk away from me," he threatened. His arm went around to hold her in place, his hands dangerously close to cupping her breast. "We're not done yet." He stuck his tongue in her ear and the shock of it made her jump. "Meet me on the 3rd floor afterwards." Then he was gone.

* * *

***Mamoru***

Uh… very surprisingly, things weren't going as well as he'd thought with Cass. As soon as she saw him, she _threw_ her drink at him. Thankfully she was a million miles away and uncoordinated enough that she'd been no real threat, but still. The glass shattered on the floor somewhere behind him and he could tell that Usagi was trying hard not to laugh at him, but even her drink was spilling on the floor as she shook trying to cover her mouth.

"You really think that this is just going to be over? Just like that?" Cass roared. "Fuck you. Fuck your keys. Fuck your car. Fuck your face, your stupid hair. FUCK everything about you!"

Cass stormed out the room and Usagi followed her out, but not before sticking her tongue out at him. He put his three fingers up in reminder and she scrunched her nose back at him like she didn't want to meet him, but he knew she'd show up. As soon as she lost Cass in the crowd downstairs, she'd come running back.

When they were gone, he left the lounge and walked into his main suite. It was the largest private section in the club and was the miniature version of downstairs with tiny rows of star-like lighting on the ceiling. Walking to the bar, he went around the counter and pulled out a few of his favorite bottles from the shelves and two cups. Moving around the elevated dance floor and single DJ booth, he made his way to his seat.

The black wrap-around couch circled from one side of the room to the other, with the center seat being widest part. And his throne. Setting everything on the table, he poured himself a drink and listened to the low music that played from the speakers around him. He could still hear the music from downstairs, the walls vibrating around him from the bass at every beat.

Behind him were panels of different colors veils that moved aside and let him split the room in half if he wanted more seclusion. It gave the room a mystical, Arabian feel and he stared up at the ceiling, taking another drink while he waited. Usagi should be here any minute. He had told the staff to leave him alone for the hour and to not return until he called them back in. They weren't allowed to let anyone in that wasn't Usagi and he couldn't have been more relieved when she finally arrived.

"The party was here the whole time?" she joked, looking around the empty room. "I had no idea."

She slightly wobbled in her long-sleeved, midnight blue dress and brown wedged boots. The shoulders were squared off and sharp, giving her a fierce look, but all he could focus on was the plunging neckline.

He stood up and waited for her to reach him. She pulled the drink off his hand. Downing his warm sake, she placed the cup down on the table beside them and took a seat. Then she pulled off her shoes, threw them aside and laid down. He followed her, sprawling out next to her and watching as she impatiently pushed her hair away from her neck and face. Her cheeks were flushed from the drinks.

"Are you ok?" he asked after she finally looked up at him. She nodded, reaching for his cheek and pinching it.

"Yes." She dropped her hand and continued to stare up at him. "I just want to stay here for a bit." She closed her eyes again and appeared to fall asleep.

He laid on his elbow beside her, watching her. He closed his eyes briefly, feeling her soothing aura around him. She hummed like a beautiful pale rose, the prettiest shade he'd ever seen. He opened his eyes to look down at her again and wondered how anyone could think she was Sailor Moon. He stroked her hair and Usagi opened her eyes. They were so different, and Usagi was the cutest thing he'd ever seen.

"I like being here with you," she whispered.

They remained in the same position for a few minutes, she on her back and him on his side. His mind was blissfully blank thanks to the quick work of his potent drinks and he decided to rest his head near her face. He opened his eyes a little while later and noticed her staring at the ceiling and wondered if she still felt tipsy. He got up slowly to find them some water and she sat up with him, already reaching out for the bottles on the table. Knocking her hand away, he pushed the bottles further from her reach because he knew she would be too lazy to get up. Whether she noticed or not, she retreated her hand and said nothing, laying back down.

"Pour me some more," she croaked. "It was good."

She was really done and it would probably be best she went home soon. He checked his watch and realized that they'd already been in the room for 45 minutes. He had no idea that they'd dozed off for so long.

"Some of that wine," she said again, looking up to point at another bottle on the table. "I'm so thirsty."

She sat up again and waited for him to pass her the drink. She wasn't really paying attention to him so he poured a tiny bit of the wine for color and filled the rest with water from a pitcher he found on one of the tables. He gave it to her and wondered if she would notice the difference. She drank it in one go, called it delicious and asked for a refill. Not a good sign.

"Tell me when you're going home," he told her, giving her a glass full of water. "I'll take you." She shook her head.

"I'm staying over at Cass's. I'll leave when she does."

She was sitting up now, her eyes more focused. She pointed, then curled her finger at him, beckoning him over. Ignoring the drink he gave her, she pulled him down until he was sitting next to her again and he placed the cup somewhere on the floor by his feet. She kneeled beside him, hugging his head to her chest. He was suddenly very awake.

"Mamoru…"

"What?" he mumbled, mouth full of cleavage.

She moaned as he licked around the borders of her dress. She didn't have to tell him what she wanted. He already knew.

Wrapping his arms around her waist, he tugged her closer until she climbed on top of him. Placing wet kisses all over her neck and collarbone, she grabbed onto his shoulder, one hand holding the back of his head to her. He bit the secret place at the base of her neck that he knew drove her crazy and she moaned loudly in his ear.

Telling by the way she moved on top of him, she wanted more, and kept guiding her face to poke underneath her dress. Deciding to toy with her a bit, he licked and bit close to her breasts, but made no direct contact. She was going to learn what it meant to wait.

Pulling away from her, he moved closer to the backrest of the couch. Grabbing a hold of a curtain panel near the wall, he yanked the thin material and it tore quickly as he spun it around over his knuckles. He pointed beside him.

"Kneel." She crawled over to him and he pulled her by the arm until she was right where he needed her. "Your hands." He took them and moved them behind her. There, he grabbed her wrists and bound them together, making sure his knot was tight enough to withhold her squirming. She was going nowhere.

"What are you going to do?" she shivered after he finished tying her, but she wasn't scared. She was _intrigued_.

He said nothing as he placed both hands on her neck, his thumbs massaging her collarbone. As he moved his hands lower down her chest, he could feel her heart beating rapidly into his palms. She was already breathing heavy and he hadn't even started yet.

He pulled down the both sides of her dress until the material was secure under her breasts. Bringing his mouth all over her, he kissed in between her breasts, rubbing each one with his hands. Licking slowly from the bottom of her breast up, he moved his tongue all over her darkened target until she whimpered. Taking one into his mouth, he sucked her hard for along time. She tasted like everything he could ever want.

He moved his arms to squeeze her tiny waist, Usagi's shallow breaths further feeding into his need to tease her. He pulled away briefly when his ears picked up on something. They could hear Cass just outside the door arguing with the guard to let her in. She was looking for Usagi.

"Untie me," Usagi said slowly, knowing that the situation probably called for the reaction, but the drinks making her dull. "She's going to see us." He shook his head, passing his fingers over the softness of her side breast.

"I told them not to let anyone in." He pulled her nipple. "But then again, Cass can flash her way past anybody." Her eyes widened. "We'll just have to see."

He continued his assault, despite knowing she was uncomfortable or perhaps because of it. Swirling his tongue around her nipple, she let out a sigh. She looked at him again, her eyes half closed.

"Mamoru…" He smiled. His pleasure came from her saying his name.

He bit down on her again and she moaned. He sucked harder, smashing both breasts together so that he could quickly alternate between them. She forced her mouth shut as he bit one then the other, moving back and forth until she was writhing with unsatisfied desire. He grabbed the back of her neck, his fingers entangling in her hair, and tilted her head up. Kissing up her throat, he went to her chin and then back down again to bite her shoulder, his hands roaming along the sides of her body. He moved in between her legs and she looked at him desperately.

"_Mamoru_."

"Mmhm?" He stroked her inner thighs. She closed her eyes again, a whining groan coming from the back of her throat. "Tell me," he baited. "Is there something you want to say?"

"Oh, my goodness!" she grunted, complaining. "Mamoru!"

"What, Odango?" he asked. "You want me to stop?" He rubbed her panties.

"Yes! Yes!" She was jumping on his hand, grinding against his palm. "Mamoru, _please_!"

"Please, what?" He moved his fingers back and forth. "Please, stop?" She nodded, arching her chest out into his face and bouncing faster. As much as she was conflicted, she could not be enjoying himself more. Nor could he. Stopping, he moved away from her and watched as she tried to catch her breath. She looked up at him deliriously, confused as to why he'd stopped.

"Where are you going?" she asked after he started walking away from her. He turned around only to answer.

"Now you'll know what it's like to be left hanging." She furrowed her brows, still not understanding that he was going to abandon her all hot and bothered. "It's just a little payback. You should have called me back sooner, Odango. I told you you'd regret it."

"No." Her mouth was wide open as she stared at him, the full realization of what he was doing hitting her. She struggled to get out her ties.

"I'm going to let Cass in and tell her I found you."

He moved out of her line of sight, but he could hear her curse him even from all the way across the room. This was hilarious. At least she was still in the right mind to know embarrassment. He wasn't actually planning on letting Cass in, but he wanted to bother her about it anyway. He was however serious about getting her back. He shouldn't have to chase her around to get what he wanted. She was supposed to be where he said at all times.

Waiting a full minute, he peeked around the corner to see if she was still where he left her. She wasn't. She had taken him seriously. Good. He had tied the ribbon like a bow so it should have been easy to get it off, and she had probably retreated to the bathroom to get herself together. Walking back to the door, he could hear voices outside. A lot of them. He checked his watch again. It was 20 minutes past the time he'd told his friends and the staff to show up.

He was horny, but he wanted to give Usagi some time for his lesson sink in. Besides, as soon as the sun came up in a few hours, the day was all theirs. Tomorrow she would surely get it. And people said he wasn't a patient guy. Deciding to let everyone in, he opened the door and the DJ and bartender rushed in before the crowd. He stepped aside, greeting the rest of the people he'd invited, and let the party begin.

* * *

The way I imagined Mamoru leaving her was with Kanye West's 'Power' playing in the background. Haaaeeeey Oh!

I'll promise to update as quickly as I can. Have a great weekend!

-CattyKitty


	14. Chapter 13 - Drunk on Love

_CattyKitty_

Happy Valentine's Day!

(Standard disclaimer: I do not own any of the Sailor Moon characters of which I am writing about. This story is an original that I wrote for fun and without compensation. All characters belong to Naoko Takeuchi.)

Two More Weeks

**Chapter 13**

**Drunk on Love**

***Motoki***

He couldn't sleep and nothing he did helped. Not warm tea, not even Reika giving him a back rub—especially not that. He couldn't stop thinking about Cass and if he was a making a huge mistake by being with Reika. Hearing Cass so upset on the phone earlier, everything she'd yelled at Mamoru… it was all meant for him. And it made him feel like crap.

It was late and he was tired, but he had no illusions of getting any sleep. He wished he could have something to pull him out of it, anything to make him stop thinking about what he should do. Locking himself up in his study, he just wanted to escape the sickening feeling of being trapped, even for a little bit, but nothing worked. And now Reika had found him.

"Stop!" Reika yanked the glass away from his hand, spilling the drink all over him. "What's wrong with you?"

He glared at her, anger consuming him, and it was in that moment where he finally understood why men hit women. It was his apartment, his study, his life. And she needed to get out. He stood up, walking away from her to refill his cup again.

"Ever since we got home you've been in the nastiest mood." Reika came around to stand in front of him, crossing her arms as he gulped another round. "Did you parents say something bad about me? They don't like me, do they?" He remained silent. "Of course I can't compete with Mamoru's Barbie. I shouldn't be surprised."

He leaned against his bookcase and closed his eyes, knowing that no amount of mind wandering would be able to save him from her rant. Good thing that the conversation was nowhere near the real issue. Reika was jealous of another man; he couldn't imagine her knowing about Cass. The devastation would be absolute.

"You know, I expected your parents to be smarter than that, but I should have known that whoever raised the Spawn of Satan couldn't possibly be considered decent parents." He sighed. What was her issue with Mamoru? "I'm just so surprised you came out of them. You're so much better than them." She reached out for his arm. "No offense." His nostrils flared. You can't just call someone's parents stupid and say 'no offense'. She was always best at being condescending.

"Why do you hate Mamoru so much?" He didn't understand and he needed to know. "What has he ever done to you?"

"He's the corruptor!" she cried. "It's that obvious?" He stared at her.

"Did he try to make a pass at you? Tell me. I need to know. Because none if this makes any sense to me."

"No!" She was shaking her head. "I just don't like him!" she stuttered. "He has so much influence over you and I hate it! Look! We spend just 2 hours near him and you're already the shittiest person on the planet!"

"How?" he yelled. Now she was getting on his nerves. "How does he influence me when I'm HERE!" He waved his arms around. "_Despite_ the millions of texts he's sent me to go out with him tonight."

"See?!" She pointed to him like a crazy person, as if he'd just condemned himself. "He temps you into doing things you don't need to be doing!"

"_I didn't do anything_." This woman was going off the charts. "I just can't understand how you could hate someone that's done nothing to you. You're this ball of negativity and I can't handle that right now."

"How don't you see it? I insult you parents, Motoki! _Your parents_! And yet you're arguing with me to defend _him_!"

"I don't need to defend my parents because you're right," he said, "they don't fucking like you." Her lip started quivering. "Now what? What do you have to say?"

"You're an asshole." Her voice was low, menacing. "I honestly don't understand sometimes how I've put up with your immaturity."

"Get out of my house."

He immediately regretted his words. He really hadn't meant to say that. Reika blinked, but stared at him for a long while before stepping to him, shoving her face close.

"_What_ _did you say to me_?" He stepped back, rubbing his temple. He needed to calm down. Right now he was angry with her, but that didn't mean he wanted to hurt her.

"Please leave me alone for a little while, Reika. I don't think I can deal with you right now."

"Right," she clipped. "You need to get back to obsessing over that girl from tonight." He tensed, but refused to look up at her. Holy. Crap. "Do you think I'm stupid, Motoki?" she asked. "Like I can't pick up on shit? When you're _staring_ at her the entire fucking night!" she roared.

"What are you even talking about?"

"Don't give me that bullshit!" Her face was red. "There's something between you and her! Why else would she be yelling about you over the phone?" That was a spot on guess but he figured if you were paranoid about everything, you had to be right at some point. "Look at me!" she demanded. "Look at me and tell me another reason why that woman would be so angry with you!"

"You're jealous, Reika! You're a crazy, jealous bitch!" Now it was his turn to go on the defense.

"So what was she, your ex-girlfriend?" she continued, talking over him with her suspicions. "I was going to drop it, assume that I was imagining things, but I can tell by that g_oddamned look on your face_, that I'm right!" He'd never seen her this angry. "Was she your ex-girlfriend, Motoki?" she repeated. "Or did you and Mamoru just _share_ her until one of you got bored?" His jaw clenched. "Tell me, did he steal her away from you? Is that why you're so angry?"

No matter what he said, she didn't look ready to believe a single word out of his mouth. Giving up the thought that they could somehow be rational, he decided that talking would get them nowhere. Besides, he had no idea how to lie around this. He couldn't admit she was partially right; she would never let it go. He had to cool her down, keep her away from the truth.

"You don't know anything," he said calmly. "And there's no point in explaining it to you when you're so upset." She looked about ready to kill him. "Go to sleep and we'll talk in the morning. It's late."

"Screw _you_!" She stalked away from him, slamming the glass door so hard he was afraid it was going to shatter. He took a deep breath, glad that he was finally alone like he wanted. That was all he needed right now. Space—A whole galaxy full of it between him and that raging demon on the other side of the door.

* * *

***Usagi***

In a flash, Mamoru's empty dance club filled up with all types of people. Cass had showed up too, and by some miracle made up with Mamoru. She knew it probably had to do with the way he had made a huge show of giving her a bouquet of flowers. They even appeared to have shared a kiss during their apology.

She could never understand them, _him_. Why did he buy her flowers? It was 2'oclock in the morning. Where did he get those flowers from, what store was still open at this time? She couldn't comprehend. Would he do anything to make her happy? And yet, he had completely abandoned her as a joke.

When he had fallen asleep next to her, it was all she could ever ask for in the universe. For Mamoru to lay beside her contently. Nothing could make her happier. Nothing! She'd been a little buzzed when they were together, but had still been able to appreciate the quiet moment between them. Only he knew how to make her truly happy.

Unfortunately, at the moment Mamoru wasn't proving himself to be very deserving of her attention, much less her feelings. He had been ignoring her ever since everyone arrived and she was still super annoyed with the way he had dumped her. If he thought that it was ok to cut her off the way he did, he needed to guess again. At first she had to admit that she understood the jest, but as she saw him with more and more women throughout the night, she wasn't laughing anymore. Which was why she kept drinking. She had to drink to find humor in the situation because right now she couldn't stand to see his face shoved in between other women's breasts, especially when she'd been that woman not even an hour ago.

The best thing to have happened so far was Rei finally showing up. She'd been talking to one of Cass's friends, but had been otherwise alone. She'd already finished off a full pitcher of mojito and as soon as she saw Rei, she was ecstatic. She didn't need to think about Mamoru, she was going to be fine. Everything was going to be fine. Rei pulled her up to dance and she finally was able to let loose. Mamoru _who_?

Neither she nor Rei knew many of the people around them, and the few that they did know were complete douchebags, so they made sure to stay close to one another. Cass was busy catching up with some old flame and while she couldn't see Mamoru, she was sure that he was out somewhere entertaining an acquaintance or two in a dark corner.

As they danced, Jed approached but Rei was too busy feeling the music to realize. He watched them dance together and when Rei finally noticed, she looked like she wanted to slap him into the next day. Thankfully, she chose to ignore him instead.

"What a treat," Jed said, coming up behind Rei's shoulder. A billow of smoke cascaded down into the front of Rei's dress, following his eyes. Rei stopped moving beside her. "A drink?" Jed offered his glass to Rei, two of his fingers still holding onto his lit cigarette.

"_Disgusting_." Rei pushed his hand away. "Get away from me," she snarled, but then she changed her mind and turned to her. "I can't be around him." Rei rushed away from her and she had no idea where she went, but knew she could be so melodramatic sometimes. Jed wasn't even touching her. She let Rei's desertion slip right off her mind and continued to dance in place. She could have fun all by herself. She looked at Jed, who was still next to her.

"She's always running away from me."

"She doesn't like you, Jed," she blurted. "Take the hint."

"She does. She just doesn't know it yet."

"All she does is talk bad about you every time I'm around." She felt as though she would be doing her friend a disservice if she didn't explain things to Jed the way they were. Rei didn't have to worry, she had her back. "She hates you."

"She hates me?" She nodded vigorously, partly as an answer, but mostly because one of her favorite songs came on.

"I mean, don't get me wrong, you're a sexy guy." Jed listened on and she urged him to dance with her, but he didn't sway one bit. "Just the other day we were talking about you and." She stopped talking, choosing instead to sing along. Jed leaned in closer.

"And what? What were you two talking about?"

"I said," she yelled, "that you're too cocky. And she hates that." She took the drink from his hand and sipped a little. It was _strong_. "Here's a secret," she grabbed onto his shoulder. Jed was all ears. "Act desperate! Hahaha. She'll never see it coming."

"Really?"

"She likes to be in control," she explained. "It's like, you can be her hurt puppy and she can take care of you like that other time we found a stray in her temple and she took care of it until it's leg got better. You'll be just like that. You'll be her, get this, _pet project_, hahaha, and she can't resist!"

"You give great advice, Usagi-chan." His grin was so wide that she had no idea whether he was serious or if he was making fun of her. She shrugged modestly.

"I tell people that all the time!" she cried. "And yet they never listen to me, can you believe that?"

"Unbelievable."

"I know!"

He put his arm around her neck in a brotherly hug. She wrapped her arms around his torso because it seemed like the natural thing to do and they stood there for what seemed like centuries. He kissed the top of her head. Near them, she heard another voice talking to Jed.

"You're pushing it." It sounded like Max. "He's watching you."

"Fuck him," Jed replied, pulling away so that his bicep wasn't covering her face anymore. He was staring down at her, smiling. "You have a nice energy," he whispered before letting her go. She nodded.

"Okay."

Nothing that just happened made any sense to her, but she continued dancing for who knew how long. People would try to talk to her, but she was in the zone and every time a guy started introducing himself, she replied with 'yeah!'. There wasn't enough time to listen to what other people had to say. Besides, she had to focus on trying to stop looking down. It was getting harder to lift her head back up.

Deciding that she had stood for long enough, she walked over to the lounge and took a seat close to where she remembered leaving her drink. Thankfully she still had the cup she'd taken from Jed and filled it up with some red liquid from a bottle beside her.

Taking in her surroundings, she swirled her drink around, waiting for the ice to slowly dissolve. She observed only because she had nothing better to do and noticed that she happened to be sitting close to Jed. He was meeting someone whom she'd never met, but had seen often in the background of events whenever she was with Cass. Jed passed the guy a swash of bills in exchange for a brown paper bag.

They talked for bit, but she didn't understand what was going on. Like, she knew what they were saying, she understood the words, their meanings however… too much brain power. She couldn't handle deciphering what conversations around her were about.

There was so much smoke she could barely see. Part of it was artificial from the club haze, but it mixed in with the smelly fumes coming off everyone's recreational puffing. Someone took a seat next to her and she only noticed because she felt the movement next to her face since she was sprawled out on the couch. She looked up and realized that it was Mamoru. He wasn't looking at her, probably hadn't even noticed he had sat down next to her. With a brown thing in his mouth, he pulled out a lighter and cupping the tip, lit it up. He inhaled deeply.

She wondered momentarily what it was until it slowly sunk in. Rage surfaced almost out of nowhere and she snatched the thing from his mouth, tossing it into the nearest drink she could see. It sizzled momentarily and she sat up to stare at him. His hands were still up around his mouth as he was trying to catch up to speed with what just happened. He looked at her.

"Do you need to go home?"

He turned away from her, expelling the reeking smoke from his mouth the other way and she wondered who in the world could find that sexy. Who would enjoy being around someone who smelled like that? Someone who did what he was doing? She did. _She_ did. He stank of bad things she didn't want to think about, yet she still found him so utterly attractive while doing it. Sexy. Mamoru was so sexy. Blowing out the smoke like a haughty pro, he was the coolest guy in the entire world.

Mamoru stood up, not waiting for her answer and walked away. She slumped on the couch again, her face almost hitting someone's lap. Where was Rei? Standing up to go to the bathroom, she made her way across the room before someone grabbed her arm, rushing her towards a nearby exit.

"Come with me, Miss."

She did as she was told and thankfully he helped her down the stairs, draping her coat over her shoulders as he opened a door to the outside world. Everything was so much brighter and she had to look away from the streetlamps because it made her dizzy. There were various black cars standing in front of them, one of them with the door open waiting for her.

"Where are we going?" she asked Mamoru's friend (or at least she assumed he was), finally turning to look at her escort.

He was an older husky man in a suit and tie and cool belt, with a gun! She'd never seen one so close before and reached out for his holster, but before she could get it she was being squeezed under Mamoru's arm as he led her into a car. She hesitated before climbing in the backseat because she didn't want him letting her go, but he did and someone pushed her in as they climbed in behind her. She crawled over to the other side of the bench to make room for her companion.

"I'm so fucking tired," Cass whined, putting a hand on her lap. "How do you feel? You should have told me you wanted to leave already." She nodded because she hadn't understood what she said and stared out the car door window. The sky was such a dreamy shade of purple. She wanted to lay down in it and close her eyes. "We're here. Come, get out."

She opened her eyes as soon as the cold air from outside hit her face. The puffs of her breath woke her up and alerted her to her surroundings. They had arrived at Cass's… but she wasn't tired at all. In fact, she felt rejuvenated and alive! Drinking wasn't bad, it was great, but even she knew somewhere in her mind that she'd probably overdone it. Maybe she would regret it later, but definitely not right now. And where was Rei at anyhow?

"She went home a long time ago, Usa," Cass answered her and she hadn't realized that she was speaking out loud.

Cass linked their arms together and they walked slowly into her lobby. She took off her shoes immediately. Her body was numb to almost every sensation, including the freezing temperatures outside, everything except for her feet; they hurt like hell. She'd been dancing for who knew how many hours on 6-inch heels and it was a huge relief to finally get some heel support.

They went up the elevator and she jumped up and down until they reached Cass's floor and walked into her apartment. In a rush, she shrugged her coat off and let it fall to the floor, throwing her shoes aside too. She couldn't hold her bladder anymore. Going into the nearest bathroom, she didn't bother shutting the door behind her to relieve herself.

She sat on the toilet and peed for _hours_. She had no idea how she had managed to hold it in all this time. She drank so much, but her mouth was beyond parched. After she was done, she looked at herself in the mirror. Her lips were so chapped and gross. Glad that she had prepared before going out, she grabbed her toothbrush and started brushing her teeth, inspecting her face for run off make-up and this totally random splotch of orange lipstick by her ear.

_Click_. She turned to the doorway only to see Mamoru with his phone in front of his face, watching her through it. _Click_. What the…? How did he get here? And was he taking pictures of her? _PICTURES_? Everything moved in slow motion as she threw her foamy toothbrush at him.

"Were you watching me _pee_?!"

Mamoru ran out the door in a flash. She quickly turned on the faucet, rinsed her mouth once and rushed out the door, stepping over her toothbrush that somehow never made it anywhere near the doorframe. She ran down the hall and almost bumped into Cass.

"Is Mamoru here?" she asked and then immediately regretted her question. "Oh my god, I think I'm seeing ghosts!" she cried. She must have imagined Mamoru being there because how could he have gotten to them so fast? HOW?

"I told you that he was coming over in the car behind us," Cass said impatiently, turning her back to her. "Just help me get out of this!" Cass was desperately trying to wiggle out her dress and she helped her pull the zipper down the rest of the way.

"Ghosts?" Mamoru peeked from the wall behind them. "Really?" So she hadn't imagined him! Thank goodness. She thought she was going insane. She knew she couldn't still be _that_ drunk.

"You came out of nowhere!" she screeched. He was wearing no suit jacket, no shoes, and the stupidest grin. He was still holding onto his phone, pointing it at her. Taunting her. "He's so disgusting!" she complained to Cass. "He watched me pee AND," she lunged at him, trying to snatch his phone away, "took _pictures_!"

"Close the door next time you want privacy." She smacked his chest and the next thing she knew, he had her wrapped in a bear hug, keeping her arms at her side so she couldn't hit him anymore.

"Get off! You're so horrible!" she cried. "Delete those pictures off your phone!"

"Calm down, Odango."

"No!"

"Go to sleep." He pushed her down so she landed on a chair behind her.

"I'm warning you now," Cass hollered from down the hall. "I will kick you both out it you don't shut the fuck up. Especially you, Usagi."

"Nooo!" She tried pushing him away, but Mamoru was only laughing at her failed attempts. "He's harassing me!"

"_Stop yelling_."

She crossed her arms giving up, feeling completely exhausted. By the time she opened her eyes again, Mamoru was gone and she found herself in her guest bedroom. She had no idea how much time passed, but was relieved at the minuscule amount of clarity she had regained as she rolled over on the bed. She wasn't sure how long she'd been sleeping and nor how she'd gotten there. As she was about to get up to change clothes, she heard a knock on the door.

"Usa?" Cass stepped in. "You fell asleep already? You're still dressed."

Realizing that she couldn't have been sleeping for more than a few minutes, she yawned knowing that her dreams were calling to her and she should hurry to get back to rest. Changing into her pajamas, she washed her face from make-up and took the slippers Cass gave her. She informed her that Mamoru was in the living room watching TV.

"Why is he still here?" she asked on their way to kitchen to grab a glass of water before going to bed. "Why didn't he go home?" She yawned again. She was tired, he should be tired, too.

"I don't know."

When they detoured to reach Mamoru, he was in fact watching commercials for sexy 'massages' and entertaining companions. He might as well be watching porn; there were bare breasts everywhere. Mamoru was a creep. She grabbed the remote from him, but he immediately wrestled it back from her.

"This is the best thing on. Calm. Down."

"You calm down!" How was he telling her to calm down when she wasn't even doing anything! "And change this channel! This is gross!"

"I didn't put it on. She did." She looked at Cass.

"You can't tell me this isn't funny," Cass said, looking at her bewildered. "It's a loop of the same commercial over and over of the same girls trying to be sexy. Look at how awkward they are." Usagi noticed what she was talking about and concluded she was correct. Or maybe everything was funny when she was this sleep deprived. "Besides this is Mamoru's favorite channel, isn't it?" They both stared at him. "Ask him how many he recognizes." Mamoru looked up from his phone to glare.

"None of them," he corrected, going back to his phone.

"See?" Cass pointed. "He's calling them now." Cass laughed and Mamoru put his phone down.

"I'm classier than that." He started unbuttoning his shirt, folding it carefully before placing it on the coffee table. "I only go for the high end escorts."

"Why would you pay for sex?" she wondered. He was gorgeous. He could be with any woman in the world. "When you can get it for free?" Cass and Mamoru looked at her, but she didn't understand what the big deal was. It was a real question! She wanted to know! Mamoru stood up and started unbuckling his belt, sliding it off.

"Are you offering?" he asked her.

The word on the tip of her tongue was 'no', but she couldn't say it. She just stared at him as he took off his undershirt too, her mouth watering. She was suddenly vey horny. Forcing herself to remember Cass was sitting right next to her, she shook her head. But the answer was yes. A million times over. And over. Until forever.

"What are you getting undressed for?" Cass asked as Mamoru took his pants off and was standing in just his underwear and socks. "Are you stripping for us?"

"Neither of you could handle this." Cass laughed sarcastically, but she completely agreed with him. She couldn't stop staring at his beautiful, bulging black boxer briefs. She should have gone back to bed when she had the chance… "It's just hot in here." Mamoru was staring down at her, his crotch at perfect eye-level. "Isn't it hot in here?" he asked her.

"It's _so_ hot." His grin was too much for her. She hid her face into her lap. She couldn't stop giggling. Mamoru was so hot she couldn't handle it.

"You're going to give her a heart attack," Cass laughed, trying to pull her arms away from her face. "Look how red she is. Stop harassing her."

"I'm not doing anything."

She could feel two pairs of hands grabbing her and she had no choice but to unveil her face or suffocate herself with the cushion. She came up for a deep breath, but couldn't stare Mamoru in the face. His hotness was embarrassing _her_.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," she insisted, hoping they would back away from her. They did. Mamoru was reclining back relaxed, a cup to his lips while Cass mockingly fanned her face. She threw herself into Cass's lap, hiding her face in between her knees. "I'm sorry. I just need to sleep. Let's just go to sleep."

"You can't go to sleep yet," Mamoru said. "It's a slumber party after-party." She felt him grab her foot, tickling the heel. "We have to keep it going." After much kicking, he finally let go, but by then she had thrown every cushion off the couch.

"Usagi, stop moving," Cass mumbled, her head on the armrest. Mamoru had turned the TV off and dimmed lights so they were in near darkness. She pulled her head off her lap to look at Cass and realized she was already snoozing. She sat up, preparing to snuggle into her deeper when Mamoru pulled her in the other direction.

"I can't," she complained. "I have to resist you." He was trying to get her on his lap, but she couldn't handle her face so close to his crotch, so she rested her cheek on his shin.

She rubbed a finger on his leg. He had almost no hair whatsoever and it made her a little jealous, but at least he had hair where it mattered, like his pubes. His pubes were so sexy. So dark and always trimmed to the perfect length. She wanted to lick them.

"When are you going to fall asleep?" she mumbled. She wanted to stay up with him, but she knew she wouldn't be able to for much longer.

"I don't know. Talk to me until you bore me to death."

"Ok." She was so tired that nothing he could say would bother her at this point. "Today I saw a really cool movie." She couldn't remember a lot about it, so she spoke slowly hoping it would come to her. "It was about pigeons, I think. Anyway, they were all lost. One of them had a funny accent. It was really awesome."

"You're good at this," Mamoru yawned. "What else did you do today?"

"What did I do?" she repeated out loud. What _did_ she do? "I went to school and, oh my, you wouldn't believe this, but I got," she scratched his leg, "are you listening? I got a 75 on my Math quiz. There were 4 questions so that means I got only one wrong. Yeah, I'm a genius."

"I always knew you had potential," he congratulated her. "English is an easy subject. You just have to remember the alphabet." She blinked up at him. He wasn't even listening to her.

"No, I said _math_. Like, numbers."

"Oh, well in that case, are you sure you only got one wrong? Because I doubt you can count past fifty."

"Yes, I can!" Of course she could to count. "51, 52, 53…" She yawned again, losing her place.

"Stop drooling on my leg." Mamoru shook her off.

"I'm not drooling!" She rested her head on her arms instead. They were way softer than his bony legs anyway.

"Talk." Jolting herself awake, she tried to focus on another part of her day so Mamoru could finally stop bothering her.

"Do you remember when we met?" she asked since the memory unexpectedly popped into her head.

"Yes."

"You called me Odango on that first day. It was so mean of you, but I still liked you. I thought you were so sexy."

"I thought you were dumb."

"But there was one thing that I always wondered about," she admitted. "I could never understand why and it always bothered me."

"What?"

"Why did you open the paper I threw at you?"

"I don't know."

"If someone throws something away, I wouldn't care what it's about. I would just be mad if it hit me, but you opened it." Mamoru didn't say anything for a long time and she wondered if he was still awake.

"But aren't you glad I did?"

"Of course. I don't think you would have talked to me otherwise." She yawned. "Right?" But she fell asleep before she was able to hear his answer.

* * *

Review!

-CattyKitty


	15. Chapter 14 - Things Forgotten

_CattyKitty_

Hello, my loves! It's been a while, but here is the new chapter, finally! I didn't forget about this story and I hope no one thinks I'm going to stop updating or anything. I'm super busy this semester and I'm trying my best to manage my time efficiently, but it's tough. I will try to not let more than 2 weeks pass without an update because even I think this one took way too long. I'm almost positive that my next chapter will be up next Friday, but don't get too mad at me if it isn't.

Thank you to everyone that's reviewed and I am especially grateful to those that take their time to write me wonderfully long reviews. I genuinely want to know what readers like or dislike _and_ why, because it better develops the characters in my head (and hopefully the story). It feels amazing to read your thoughtful comments and I cherish all feedback. THANK YOU FOREVER AND EVER. Shout out to Spike, mantis macabre, tangled6, Starberryblossom, yamy89102, DrummerAnimeNerrd, GinnyPotter0183, fmafan94, M, SerentiyMoonGodness, Maeko11, sazbelle, freakblueangel, SV-LL, mandii-xo and even to my lovely guest reviewers. Love love love you all.

(Standard disclaimer: I do not own any of the Sailor Moon characters of which I am writing about. This story is an original that I wrote for fun and without compensation. All characters belong to Naoko Takeuchi.)

Two More Weeks

**Chapter 14**

**Things Forgotten**

***Mamoru***

He woke up to the sound of a chirping, almost like bird chirping, but louder, higher pitched and much too close. Lifting his head from whatever it was on (his crumpled up shirt), he looked around for the source of the noise. It was one of the phones on the table. Sitting up, he stretched the crick in his neck and looked around. Usagi lay by his feet on her stomach in deep sleep and Cass, who was sleeping sitting up, was now also stirring due to the noise. Moving towards the jumping device, the phone also had a visual alarm: 11AM GET READY NOW. He silenced the phone and grabbed his own.

"The two on the left are mine," Cass said, waking up. "Let me get them." He grabbed the phones, tossing them to her. That meant that the one ringing had to be Usagi's. He looked over at her. She still hadn't budged despite the ruckus. No wonder she was always late to school.

Putting his pants back on, he stretched once again and Cass followed suit, yawning and walking behind him. As they moved around the apartment, he didn't see a single maid or chef.

"I'm hungry." He was the guest in her house and his stomach was grumbling. "Get me food."

"Okay, okay," Cass growled. "_Shut up_." She was not a morning person. She walked over to the oversized fridge and started pulling ingredients out. He stopped her.

"You better not make my breakfast," he warned. He was not going to tolerate sub-par cooking. She slapped his hand away.

"You wish. This is for my facial." She walked away from him. "I'll call the cooks in now."

He walked off to find a bathroom, deciding to make a few phone calls himself. He was tired and needed a cold shower to wake him from his mere 4-hour rest, but most importantly, he required a fresh outfit immediately. He refused to wear wrinkled clothes. Staying in the shower until the doorman called from downstairs, he tried to remember why he thought it had been a good idea to sleep over. He hadn't done this in years and it made him feel immature. He hated not waking up in his own bed.

After a very spontaneous decision to follow Cass and Usagi home last night, he realized that it was no fun being the only clearheaded one around two drunken girls. For the sole enjoyment of bothering the crap out of Usagi, he teased her freely knowing that there were no repercussions. Just one good look at her was enough to know that she was going to hate herself the next day. Apparently, Usagi couldn't hold her liquor.

At first, he was mad at her, but it was irrational and he didn't want to be. She had done the most random things at the club, things he couldn't understand and that had annoyed him. While Cass was manageable in her party mode, Usagi was a fool. If her recklessness at the club was any indicator, Usagi couldn't be left unattended and he had felt it had been his responsibility to get her out of there, away from potentially hazardous situations. If he hadn't corralled her and Cass into a cab, who knew when or how they would have gone home. Although those things should have not been any of his concern, they nagged him until he'd done the right thing, even while sacrificing his own enjoyment. He had spent half the night ensuring Usagi wasn't talking to strangers for no good reason.

After his delivery was brought up, he changed into his new outfit and felt rejuvenated. Walking back to where he'd left her, he looked for Usagi. He hoped she was still sleeping because he planned to poke her until she woke up. She was gone, but he heard her voice coming from the next room and followed it.

Usagi was sitting on a stool watching a horde of workers set up the dining table and another crew in the kitchen prepare their brunch. She was shoving a large muffin into her face, looking like someone just dragged her out of bed for a crack of dawn exam. Singing along to one of the songs coming from the kitchen radio, she stopped when she noticed him. At least she didn't act like she was hung-over.

"You're still here," she muttered, turning back to her crappy pop music.

"It's noon. Aren't you going to even attempt to get ready?"

"Leave me alone." She licked the grease off her fingers. "I can lounge around however I want."

"Then you must enjoy looking like a slob," he said, watching a large crumb fall on her sweatshirt. Usagi sighed, standing up to get rid of him, but he followed her around. Her shorts were loose fitting yet short enough to be sexy. He could get with that.

"I don't need to impress you." She was right, he'd fuck her regardless, but they both knew she would try her hardest for him. "You can't handle my effortless beaut-" Right then, Cass came down the stairs and Usagi stopped and stared at her horrified. Cass was alert and dressed, make-up and hair done; everything Usagi wasn't. She cursed under her breath.

"Now you really look like shit," he laughed. She turned red, throwing her muffin at him. He slapped it away, the uneaten portion plopping on the floor by their feet.

"Stop!" Cass screeched, hurrying down the stairs. "My carpet is too expensive for you two to throw crumbs all over the place!" Cass got down on her knees, short dress and heels and all, and started picking up after them.

Usagi apologized, but then stuck her tongue out at him, disappearing up the stairs and he headed back to the dining area. Cass eventually joined him and he apologized (she was obsessive when it came to her pristine décor), but they both knew that his apology extended beyond Usagi's muffin-y mess. Last night, their talk had been brief and he knew that it was due to the alcohol, but there were a few things he needed to clear up.

"I'm really sorry about everything that's happened. Before the summer, over the summer, but especially yesterday."

"I told you that it was over." Cass was lining up grapes in a basket by size order. "And I was serious." She had also told him yesterday that she'd forgiven him, but seeing her face now proved that she had only said it to be nice—and his hopeful mind hadn't realized it. He should have known that it was foolish to think she'd forgive him overnight. "You couldn't honestly think that I'm going to let it go just like that. Just be grateful I'm still talking to you." They continued to sit in silence as they meddled with their phones, ignoring each other.

"Is the food ready? I'm starving!" Usagi bounced towards them a half-hour later, finally dressed and looking alive.

Her hair was straightened and fell down past her bare shoulders. She had on a short black dress that was long-sleeved but started under her shoulder. There was so much smooth skin exposed, he didn't know where to stare. Wasn't she aware that it was hailing outside?

She took the seat closest to him, giving him a smoldering look with her thick winged eyeliner. She definitely took his words seriously. He couldn't wait to play with his sexy little cat.

"Are you going to wait for me?" Cass asked Usagi once the trays had been placed on the table and they'd started serving themselves. "I don't want to leave the staff in here while I'm gone. I have to meet Prisma in a few, but I'm returning fast. Watch things for me until I get back. Mamoru, you can skedaddle as soon as you're ready, please." He ignored her request. If Usagi was staying, then so was he.

"Sure, I don't mind," Usagi replied, filling her plate. "I'll hang around here for a little while until I have to go home." Usagi looked at him innocently. "My _daddy_ wants me home by 4pm."

It took all his effort not to smile. So he was her daddy now… She had no idea what she'd just started.

Reaching underneath the table, he grabbed her knee and watched her swallow hard. Trying her hardest to appear normal, she continued eating, but Cass wasn't even paying attention to them. He moved his hand up her thigh, slowly going in between her legs. She paused her chopsticks midway to her mouth, biting her lips instead. She turned to him.

"What are you doing after this?" she asked him, the best fake-annoyed expression he'd ever seen on her. He stared back, knowing that she was asking a hidden question. And the answer was yes; he was definitely planning on fucking her the moment Cass walked out the door. "Or are you going to bother me all day until I leave?"

"Don't flatter yourself. I'm busy, too." He moved his hands higher up, up, up her inner thigh, his finger moving over her underwear. She immediately shifted her chair away from him and he pinched her leg in displeasure. Couldn't she handle a little teasing? "I don't have time to waste with you even if I wanted."

Usagi gave him a warning glance as Cass's phone rang. Taking advantage of the beautifully timed distraction, he reached over and cupped her mound, pressing hard into her. There was a brief moment where he thought he felt her shudder before her hand quickly yanked his away. She bent her head low, whispering furiously.

"You disrespectful asshole!"

"Horny slut."

Usagi gasped at his accusation and turned away from him, forcing her focus back to Cass's conversation. She knew he was right. There was no point denying it.

"You're starting early?" Cass stood up quickly, her voice rising. "No! No! No!" She grabbed her purse off the table, almost knocking off her plate. "Please wait for me! I _need_ to be there!" Cass ran down the hallway and they heard the elevator doors open and close without a single farewell to either one of them.

He and Usagi looked at each other. That had been so much easier than he'd expected.

"Aren't I lucky?" He pulled the leg of her chair closer to his. "I can continue to harass you all I like."

"Our date doesn't start until later," Usagi said, going back to her meal. "You're going to have to wait."

"Wait? Are you serious?"

"I'm not doing anything until we're on our date. Period."

"Come on, Usagi. The way I see it, is that we usually eat." He rubbed her belly and she squirmed away but he held her waist. "And then I get to fill you up."

"So nasty," she shivered, but she was laughing. "Let me finish eating first and then I'll think about it."

The only reason he complied was because some of the staff came to collect used plates and refill their cups with tea. He kicked her chair away from his and she gave him a nasty look as he interrupted yet another food item from going into her mouth. He forgot that they weren't completely alone yet and he'll be damned if he trusted _anyone_ to not say something about them. Last night, he had been careful to not be seen interacting with her, but one could never be too sure about what was truly noticed.

He stood up and walked to the kitchen, announcing the workers' dismissal. They needed to pack it if he wanted to be on the safe side. He had no idea how long Cass would take, but figured he'd have a half-hour until she returned. It was his mission to get something out of Usagi until then. After he personally made sure that the cooks and servers and even Cass's hairstylist that was upstairs left, he went back to Usagi and pulled her chair backwards.

"_Stop_!" she whined, trying to finish her food. "I told you already, Mamoru. No."

"I know you don't mean that." He lifted her from the chair to the room they'd all slept in because it was the farthest place from the entrance—just in case they had bad luck. He sat them on the couch and held her by the waist. She jumped away, sliding off his lap.

"Don't!" she yelled. "This is Cass's house and I feel weird fooling around here." She cocked her head. "Do you comprehend?"

"No, I don't. Just a few hours ago you seemed perfectly fine flirting with me in front of her." His hand went to her breast, squeezing. "Now that she's not here, show me what you wanted to do to me last night. If you even remember, that is."

"Get a grip on yourself." She pinched his hand off her. "I'm not that stupid to do something in front of her. I wasn't _that_ drunk."

"Oh, I think you were." Her cheeks turned pink at the accusation, just like they'd been last night. "You said some interesting things. Don't you remember?"

"_Of course_ I remember." The look on her face said otherwise and he laughed at her expression

"Fine! So my memory's a little foggy," she admitted, "but it's not like I was doing stupid things! I doubt I was really flirting with you."

"Then you must remember nothing." She started to protest. "Prove it." She growled in frustration.

"I remember _extremely _clearly being mad at you and that was because you dumped me. That wasn't funny at all, by the way." He hid his smile. "Then I remember meeting with Rei, but she left and I had no idea where she went, either. And then," she hesitated, "that's kind of… it." His jaw dropped. She couldn't be serious? That wasn't even half an hour after he'd left her. They'd been there for almost 4 hours more before they'd come to Cass's apartment.

"Drinking so much that you can't remember anything the next day? No, that's not stupid at all." She looked away at his criticism. "You can't do things like that. You're going to get raped one day."

"Mamoru!" She hit his arm at the vile suggestion, whining as the shame kept her cheeks burning. "Don't say that! I didn't mean to drink that much," she insisted. "It's not usually like that, but if you really didn't like it, you should have stopped me. You let me keep drinking."

"I'm not your babysitter," he snapped, the accusation that this was somehow his fault pissing him off. "You're old enough to make your own decisions, Usagi. Take responsibility for your actions. I did tell you not to drink at the beginning of the night, but you didn't listen to me."

"I know. But… it was because you left me all alone." Her voice was so small that nearly all his anger evaporated. "Why did you ignore me all night?"

She looked at him pleadingly and he was forced to turn away. He wished he had a decent reason to give her, but he didn't. Originally he'd been trying to teach her a lesson, a very silly one, and in the greater scheme of things it was probably a huge mistake. Usagi required more of his attention than he gave her and wished that he could have given her more supervision, but it was so much more complicated than she realized.

"You should know why." His life was more public than anyone could want. Maintaining his distance was something he had to do to keep her away from the spotlight and him away from trouble. If she knew the type of people that had been around them last night, she'd be thanking him for the favor. "There's no need for anybody to know what we do."

"Of course." She sighed. "Is there anything that happened I should know about?"

"You threw my expensive cigar in a pitcher of sangria." She rolled her eyes, not exactly remorseful, and he continued the list. "You reached out for my bodyguard's gun." Hey eyes widened. "You're lucky that I stopped him in time because you were very close to being slammed to the ground." She covered her face again. "And last, but definitely not least, you drunk texted the entire night."

She looked at him disbelievingly. One second, two seconds, three full seconds passed until it started dawning on her the possible damage she may have unknowingly caused. Her head turned toward the table in front of them, staring at the same place where her phone had been sitting since this morning. Her eyes went wide.

"Oh my… goodness."

"You're one big train wreck, aren't you?" he badgered, making a grab for her phone right before she'd been able to reach it. "I wonder what kind of embarrassing things you messaged people." Usagi looked like she was about to cry.

"Give. It. To. Me." He laughed in her face and shook his head. She attacked him, trying to wrestle the phone from him, but his hand was too large for her tiny fingers to pry off. "I am going to kill you!" He laughed again. She was so worked up about this. It must be a juicy secret. "MAMORU GIVE IT BACK!"

"But the mystery is so intriguing, Odango!" He opened her home screen and looked for the message icon. "Who were you texting?" When he noticed her genuine fear of him looking inside, he felt a nasty pang in his chest and wondered if it was really his place to snoop. In his moment of hesitation, she was able to snatch it back.

She quickly leaped away from him and started clicking buttons furiously. What could be so horrible that she wouldn't want him to see? He dove to her, pinning her hands down since he couldn't deny his curiosity.

"Let's negotiate," he offered. "I'll show you a picture I took of you last night if you show me who you were texting." Usagi looked baffled, since she didn't remember last night's fuss. Still, she shook her head, her hands trapped in his. "It's quite horrific so you may want to listen to me." She stopped resisting him. "I might even delete it if you can convince me nicely."

When she nodded, he let go of her momentarily and pulled his phone out. Sitting next to him again, she leaned in closely as he showed her the image. She gasped. The picture was of Usagi brushing her teeth, or at least attempting. She was leaning over the bathroom sink with her forehead pressed to the mirror, her tongue out like a dog. Her eyes were wide open and her toothbrush was hanging out her mouth, frothy white toothpaste dripping from her chin. She looked so dumb.

"You're awful!" she cried, taking the phone from him to examine it further. "Why did you stalk me into the bathroom to take this?"

"I was actually just walking down the hall when I noticed you." Last night she had thought he'd seen her peeing, but he hadn't, it was just funny letting her believe he had. "You left the door wide open and I walked in at that moment. You looked like _that_ so I had to do it."

"I look horrible…" She shook her head, confused about her life choices.

"Now it's your turn to show me." He waited for her to pass her phone over, but she only tensed. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder in the case she tried to run. She shook her head.

"I lied."

He snatched her phone without any resistance and quickly realized why. Opening the home screen, he had no access past it without a passcode. She locked it. He couldn't believe she'd locked her phone. Now he _really_ wanted to know.

"You little bitch." He smothered her into his chest, but she only snuggled closer, laughing triumphantly. "Why won't you show me?" She looked up at him, kissing his cheek softly. Then again.

"It's nothing," she said sweetly, but the gleam in her eye made him believe she'd gotten away with murder. "Mind your own business."

He smiled at her words. She was going to regret saying that to him.

Distracting him with a slowly rising hand on his arm, she kissed up his chest delicately. Such a clever tactic was usually employed by a woman with something to hide and while Usagi definitely had some secrets, that knowledge didn't bother him all that much (see? it was already working). Her mouth was on his throat, his mind blanking out more and more by the second.

"She'll be back any moment," Usagi whispered, nipping along his jaw. "Maybe you should leave." He pulled her face closer to his. He couldn't remember the last time they'd kissed on the lips. "Mamoru?" His tongue went over her bottom lip, then inside. She moaned, her hand coming up to his cheek, then quickly down to push against his chest. "Wait. Cass will be here soon."

He pulled away. There was no use in arguing, she was right. Looking at his watch, it was nearly 1pm. They still had a few hours until they would meet up again and when they did, she better be prepared for what was going to happen at his house. There would be no escaping him then, so he'd ease off for now. He wasn't kidding when he said he was going to spank her, among other things. As he stood to go, she held him back.

"Mamoru." She was smiling shyly him. "I'm so glad you came back." Since this wasn't the first time he'd heard her say it, it wasn't surprising, but the reminder was still sweet. His annoying little Odango wanted him around all the time. "Who knew there'd be a time when you going away would actually make me miss you?"

"Things always change." Just one year ago, he would never have been talking to Usagi, much less spending time with her like this. "And it's hard to stay away from good cock."

"Nearly impossible," Usagi agreed. After the amusement passed, she asked, "What do you think is going to happen with Cass and Motoki?"

"I don't know." He honestly didn't know what they were going to do. "Their relationship is complicated. It's always been."

"Isn't every relationship complicated?" She was staring up at him, asking so many questions at once.

"Not always," he assured her. "But the best ones tend to be." She looked down, cheeks rosy.

"Don't tease me, jerk. We both know that's not true." She glanced wistfully at him. "I think that it's just hard to let go, even when you realize it won't work. Maybe that's why Cass let him leave in the first place."

He thought back to when he had told Usagi he had to go for the summer. She'd dodged him, saying she didn't care, but both of them dropped the topic immediately. It was something neither of them had wanted to talk about, but both knew how the other felt.

"Why did you let me leave?" He was curious. "What was your reasoning? We both knew you didn't want me to go."

"Oh, Mamoru." She slapped his shoulder as if he were the silliest person ever. "Those type of things don't work on you." He was taken aback at her answer. "I can't tell you to _not_ do something. It would only make you run away faster."

It took him a moment to compose himself. He'd never heard more perfect logic come out her mouth. How did she know him so well? He stared at Usagi, who was smiling impishly at him. She was much more observant than he gave her credit for. Motoki was right, he needed to watch out for her.

"I'm glad you understand," he finally replied, smiling. "Freedom goes a long way. Never forget that."

"Yet you seem disappointed at my answer." She poked his chest playfully. "What _would_ you have done if I had asked you?" she wondered, her hand playing with his pocket square.

"Nothing," he teased back. "It wouldn't have affected my decision in the slightest." She laughed.

"That's what I figured." He winked at her, rubbing her side.

"But maybe you should have tried anyway." He pushed her hair away from her neck. Sometimes women didn't understand the power they held over men. "I would have at least thought about it."

"Oh really?" she asked breathlessly. He nodded, pulling her chin closer. The secret was: he had thought about it.

"I'm back, bitches!" Cass's yell rang throughout the apartment, perfectly spoiling the atmosphere in 2 seconds flat. Usagi kissed his chin quickly before scampering off to greet Cass and he was secretly glad for the interruption. He let out a deep breath at his holy save, and was forever grateful that Usagi hadn't realized that he'd just had a moment.

* * *

***Usagi***

She was running as fast as she could. It was five minutes to 2pm and she was supposed to be at the temple already. The Senshi were all meeting again for the first time and she was the appointed mediator between Mina and the rest of the girls. She had to admit, she was a little nervous, they all were, but she couldn't wait until everything was over and done with so they could get back to being friends again.

There were a few things on her mind that were distracting her from being more excited about the reunion. The first was her situation with Mamoru. He was as confusing as could be and their talk earlier gave her inexplicable hope for something more. When he'd said that she should have asked him to stay, her soul ascended. Was he admitting that she had some kind—however miniscule—power over him? That man always knew how to make her heart melt.

Then there were the not so good thoughts, i.e., Diamond and Ichigo, because after some concentrated memory digging, she started remembering the most disturbing things from last night. After Mamoru had left Cass's house, she went through her phone and wanted to slap herself. Not only was everything Mamoru said about last night 100% true (as bits and pieces were slowly coming to her), but it wasn't even the entire story- by far. Like she'd prophesized, Diamond had been at the club yesterday and not only did she end up dancing with him, but she also promised to meet him today. Crazy, right? But it got worse. She'd sent Ichigo a slew of texts throughout the night, the first being at 3am, 'I miss you so much :) :) :)' and finally ending 12 messages later with 'You smell sexy, I want to lick you like ice cream' at 5am. There were so many things wrong with her, she didn't even know where to begin.

She'd never gotten to the point where she was last night and she swore to herself that she'd never let it happen again. It was way too dangerous for her to drink so much and she couldn't even trust herself to do the right thing. She had taken drinks from Rubeus and Jed, practically two strangers, and those were just the ones she remembered. Who knew what else she did that she still couldn't recall and shame on her for being so reckless.

While she'd been able to straighten things out with Diamond over the phone quickly, things with Ichigo were a little more complicated. When she'd finally called him back after Mamoru left, he'd been furious with her. He yelled at her for 5 minutes straight about being stupid and irresponsible. Not only had she woken him up in the middle of the night, but she'd continuously bothered him until he was forced to silence his phone at around 4:30am when she kept calling him. Ichigo told her to stop hanging out with older people (Cass) because they put her into situations she normally wouldn't be in and pressured her to act like them. Though she saw his point and agreed with him, she had no one to blame but herself. It was her sole concern to do the right thing, not anyone else's, but she was going to take to his advice anyway and steer clear from any more late night invitations. Mamoru's criticism earlier had already made her feel like shit and it was clear that she wasn't responsible enough to be partying like a rock star.

Her jealousy over Mamoru last night had taken the best of her and turned her into a spectacle. Looking back on it now, she was stupid for letting his actions get to her. What Mamoru did with other women… well, she didn't want to think about it. She herself had just gotten a huge pass by the universe when she'd been able to password protect her phone in time. While at the time she hadn't known what she'd written, she'd had her suspicions and acted accordingly. Thankfully, that had been enough. Mamoru had been so close to seeing her desperate texts to Ichigo and then where would they have been? Maybe it wouldn't have mattered to him, but it still reflected badly upon her and she took this as a sign to end things with Ichigo once and for all, before she really got caught in the act.

Whether he knew it or not, she was in for the long haul with Mamoru and she had no intentions of stopping whatever they had anytime soon. Breaking off with Ichigo was necessary if she ever had the hopes of convincing Mamoru to take her seriously. She couldn't ask from him what he was reluctant to give only to be found a hypocrite, and swore to herself that the next day of school she would call it quits with Ichigo. She would write it on her phone memo and everything, stick a post-it note on her forehead, whatever it took to get it done. She couldn't go on like this. She didn't like hiding things from Mamoru. It made her feel sleazy. Never mind the fact that it was actually Ichigo that she was cheating on, but that was yet more reason why this needed to stop. She didn't care all that much about Ichigo's feelings (although her texts to him last night made her question that), but she still needed to spare him as soon as possible.

Finally arriving, she raced up the stairs towards the temple and headed straight for Rei's mediation room. When she went inside, the girls were all there except for Mina and she was glad she wasn't late. Everyone tensed when she came in, but quickly settled down once they realized it was her. The screen door opened a tiny bit after her and they all got whiplash turning to see who it was.

"Luna!" Makoto rushed to the extra large feline and they all copied when they saw her sagging belly. "You naughty kitty you!" Luna was ready to pop! They all wanted to squeeze and pet the soon-to-be mother, but resisted in case they hurt her. Instead, they all kissed the top of her head.

"Why have you been gone for so long?" She didn't know why seeing Luna made her so emotional. She was still technically Luna's owner and yet Luna had run off on her like she didn't care about her anymore.

"Usagi-chan, don't be a crybaby." Luna slowly walked to her and climbed on her lap. "I just needed my space from Shingo. And your room is on the second floor." When Luna rubbed her fuzzy face on her cheek, she tried not to tear up.

"Luna, I missed you so much! You should have at least told us. Don't you think you were being a little mean by keeping the news?"

"Maybe she thinks we were going to steal her kittens away and adopt them off," Rei joked. "We won't, Luna, we promise."

"Luna is only having one kitten."

Mina walked in and they all looked up to see their long lost friend smiling down at them. She wore a bright red coat, her cheeks pink from the cold, and kneeled down in front of her. Outstretching her arms, Mina pulled her into a hug and they embraced for a long while.

"Mina-chan! Thank you for coming." They let go and stood up, Mina removing her coat and dropping it by the corner. Rei and Mako shyly stepped forward and embraced Mina together.

"Thank you all for letting me be here," Mina said gratefully.

"Of course, Minako," Makoto smiled. "What are girlfriends without the occasional catfight?" They hugged again and everyone started apologizing profusely to each other. Ami lagged behind silently.

The moment Ami and Mina looked at each other, Ami turned away immediately. Bringing one hand up to her forehead, the sob they heard come out of Ami afterwards was the most surprising thing she'd ever done. Everyone stood where they were as Mina walked over and kneeled in front of Ami, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Ami-chan?" Ami continued crying, her shoulders heaving in the effort.

"Minako…" Ami whispered, "I—I am the worst person! I'm so sorry!" Another wave of sorrow washed over them as Ami cried harder yet. She, Rei and Mako all mouthed to each other silently. They were not expecting a breakdown from Ami.

"Everything's fine, Ami. Don't worry about it." Mina hugged her.

"I didn't know, I'm sorry! I was so _stupid_! And Zoi—because of you-!" Mina pulled her into her chest, muffling her cries as Ami apologized over and over while Mina soothingly shushed her. It was the most out of control they'd ever seen Ami. She wasn't even making sense.

"Give us some time."

Mina's tone allowed for no contest and they walked out into the hallway, Mako carrying Luna out with them. They met with Artemis, who'd been waiting outside the door, and chatted quietly about the weirdness that was going on. Both cats remained unexpectedly mute until Mina called them in again and they all quietly took their seats around the fire. Ami wasn't crying anymore, but her face was still red.

"Mina, I think you should start by telling us why you did what you did," Rei requested sternly. She'd never been more appreciative for Rei's ability to be frank. While she didn't have the gall to ask Mina that, it was what they all wanted to know. "You should at least apologize to Ami in front of us. You did slap her, so it's the most respectful thing you could do."

"No." They all looked at Ami as she wiped her eyes. "Mina doesn't need to apologize. You girls don't understand what's going on." Ami sniffled a bit more. "I deserved it." They all stared at Ami in shock, but she was only staring at Mina. "Are you going to explain?" They all turned to Mina as she nodded, taking a deep breath before talking. Her seriousness made her uneasy. Why did she have the feeling like they were about to be blown away?

"What Ami means is that I, as the leader of the Senshi, have not been entirely honest with you." All their heads perked up, she, Rei and Mako looked at each other. Ami's head remained downcast in a clear indication that this information would not be news to her. "I'll start with what you all know. The Senshi's goal is, and always has been, to protect the Moon Princess. As Luna explained to you all before, the Moon Kingdom was destroyed millennia ago by evil forces. In order to preserve her kingdom in the hopes of it one day being reborn again, the Moon Queen was able use the remainder of her power to assure the reincarnation of her daughter and only heir, along with her guardians. They would live on with the goal of restoring peace in the solar system, and since her powers could not destroy the villains who attacked the Moon, she left the responsibility for us Senshi to finish."

"But I have nearly ended them all. After all, I have been Sailor V for a long time." Mina's eyes lowered and for the first time she'd concluded that Mina couldn't have had a normal childhood. She'd heard about Sailor V since she herself was 8, so Mina has been an awakened Senshi for at least 10 years. She looked around at the other girls, none of them had even realized… "And have been able, due to my ability to retain my previous life's memories, to prevent ties or free those in which were previously affiliated with the Negaverse, thus severing the bond between their alliances and cutting them off completely in this present time. The reason why there aren't as many youma attacks as there should be is because I've freed their leading queen and commanding officers. Due to that, the Negaverse is weak, much weaker than they were when they attacked the moon. The reason why Artemis and I returned to Japan was because we felt that the time was quickly approaching for us to eradicate them once and for all."

After Mina finished, there was a blanket silence over the room. It was a lot to take in and none of them knew what to say. Mina thought they were ready to fight the head honcho in the Negaverse, but she did not agree. Sure, they'd all gotten stronger and she was now able to bring down the youma all by herself, but the other Senshi (aside from Venus, of course) could not. They were simply not powerful enough and she was beyond afraid at the thought of a confrontation. Mina had to understand that they needed more time.

"You all seem skeptical and I understand your concerns, but we are stronger than you all realize; you just haven't come to recognize your full powers. This fight in inevitable and the longer we wait, the higher risk we take of them finding reinforcements."

"I am with you, Venus," Mako said, bowing her head. Ami echoed after her. She looked over at Rei, who had hesitated, but whom also bowed her head in agreement. Mina finally looked at her and she felt trapped. She didn't want to agree to something she didn't believe in. How could it be that she was the only one that was afraid? Thankfully, Mina did not wait for her response to continue.

"I want you to reintroduce you to someone," Mina announced, gesturing to her left. Kunzite appeared out of nowhere, standing right beside her. She, Rei and Mako's mouths were on the floor. How had he gotten there?! She blinked her eyes over and over, wondering if she was hallucinating. "This is General Kunzite, the ex-commander of the Negaverse army."

"How did he get here!" She and Rei were pointing their fingers at him, looking around wildly to make sure everybody was seeing what they were seeing: Kunzite, Mina's boyfriend and Mamoru's coworker, was standing in front of them dressed in full armor and a flowing white cape. Ami, Artemis and Luna stared back at her, Mako and Rei calmly, not impressed.

"I used a technique only known to the Royal Guard," Kunzite answered. "Simply put, teleportation."

"Isn't he so sexy in his uniform?" Mina swooned. She blew him a kiss before remembering that she had a lot of explaining to do and addressed the Senshi again. "Well, you all heard him. My Kunzy-kun is the Commanding Officer of the Earthen Royal Guard. Before the battle against the Moon, he'd been captured, along with his other generals, and brainwashed into fighting alongside the Negaverse. I have awakened him in this life so that he is once again on the right side."

She always got the vibe that there was more to Kunzite than met the eye and she'd been right, but this was still a huge shock. Not only was this information too much to take in at one time, but how could Mina have thought it was a good idea to have him pop in before their eyes like that! And the 'Earthen Royal Guard'? What the heck was that supposed to mean?

"Earth has a royal family? There's an Earth kingdom, too?"

"But you just said he was with the Negaverse!"

"WHAT is going on here?!"

"Someone please!" Makoto yelled over her and Rei. "Explain this! None of it makes any sense!"

She was only able to calm herself down by covering her face in her palms. She was having an information overload. They were supposed to find the Moon princess, but now they were telling her that there was another royal family and what if they were supposed to find that princess too? Was their job to hunt down princesses forever? How many princesses were there? Was there one for each planet in the universe? Their search would never end. Kunzite cleared his throat, effectively stopping her escalading thoughts.

"In terms that you may understand, I am part of the royal guard very much like the Senshi. We, the Shitennou, are guardians to the Earth Prince."

"_The Earth Prince_?"

"Who is he?" Rei demanded. "Are we supposed to find him, too? Is he an ally?"

"Don't worry about him too much. Essentially," Mina quipped, "he's the reason for the demise of the Moon Kingdom."

They all froze and stared at Mina. The Earthen prince destroyed the Moon Kingdom? This was getting crazier and crazier! But hadn't Mina just said that the Negaverse destroyed the Moon Kingdom, did that mean that the Earth was allied with the Negaverse? It probably explained why they hadn't heard of it until now… but it still didn't make sense. So was Kunzite good or bad? They all stared at the couple in confusion.

The fury in Kunzite's eyes as he glared at Mina was unparalleled. Mina was trying not to laugh at his expression, clearly she had been joking with him about something, but he looked like he wanted nothing to do with her. What in the world was going on?

"Nonsense!" Kunzite ignored Mina's playful hand on his shoulder and addressed the rest of them. "It is well known that your princess is the one chasing after him. That is the way it has always been and the way it will always be. Do not go accusing our prince when your princess brought that fate upon her own kingdom." In a heartbeat, Mina's cheery smile was gone. She looked pissed. "You have no one to blame except yourselves for not keeping her in line." Luna and Artemis both hissed at Kunzite and she had a sickening feeling of dejavu. Oh no, they were going to fight again. "It was your _duty_," Kunzite stressed. "You were all supposed to maintain a close watch on her, keep her away from Earth. But you failed and now you have nothing."

"Those are harsh words coming from a man weak enough to be indoctrinated by the enemy." Ami stood beside Mina, and Kunzite looked down at her, eyes stone cold.

"Maybe I was weak," Kunzite said. "But even in my diluted state, do not forget that I killed all of you."

She was beyond lost, but even in her confusion, she was able to understand a few things. Part of her wanted to tackle Kunzite to the ground and beat him senseless, what was this about him having _killed_ them before? Was this asshole was threatening them, again? But the other part of her just wanted answers. Nothing was making any sense to her. Kunzite, Ami and Mina needed to explain themselves quickly before they all lost their cool.

"KUNZITE!" Mina was livid. "First of all, that was simply a joke I made about your precious prince, so please pull out that pole from up your ass before you start babbling. We're all aware that neither side is entirely blameless. Secondly. _Don't_ talk to my Senshi that way. Apologize." Kunzite bowed his head and she'd never worshipped Mina more than she did at that moment. She was in inspiration to women everywhere.

"I am sorry, Mina." He didn't look apologetic, but he would do anything she said (close enough). "Senshi, forgive me." He didn't care to wait for their acknowledgment before speaking again. "Just understand one thing. I love Mina, but that doesn't mean I care about any one of you. My loyalty lies solely with the prince and the Shitennou. I work only in the interest of those parties involved."

"I don't understand!" Everyone turned to look at her. "What is going on? Why are you blaming each other? What does the Earth prince have to do with the fall of the Moon kingdom? What else happened that you're not explaining? And why are you two the only ones that remember everything?"

"Everyone regains their memory differently," Mina answered.

"In order for this to all make sense, allow me to give a little more backstory," Ami started. "Back then, the Earth and Moon kingdoms were not allies and travel between them was forbidden on both sides. _Somehow_," Ami's 'somehow' sounded very questionable, like that in itself was another mystery, "the Moon princess and the Earth prince met and fell in love. There lay the heart of the problem because they could not be together. Taking advantage of the chaos between kingdoms as they publically declared their relationship, a hidden power, led by the prince's intimate confidant, attacked the Moon in the name of the Earth. That was the first time we heard of the Negaverse and the beginning of the war."

"And by 'intimate confidant' what exactly do you mean?"

"Lover."

"A former lover of the prince betrayed him and attacked the Moon? Why?"

"She was angry because she had assumed the prince and her to be eventual rulers," Kunzite answered. "It is still unclear as to whether she was in on it from the beginning, or led astray by the Negaverse after hearing about the prince and princess. What we do know was that she killed our prince in revenge and the Moon princess took her own life in grief."

Holy crap. That was seriously deep stuff. Mina and Ami appeared deeply regretful by the story, while she and the other Senshi looked at each other in disbelief. No one could make that kind of stuff up even if they wanted. Forbidden love, murder, war, suicide; those ancients sure knew their drama.

"Okay. I have a couple of questions." Makoto looked at a paper she had written things down and quickly made a few more notes before proceeding to read them out loud. "I'm still confused about the whole ex-Negaverse General deal. Could someone please go over this 'brainwashing' thing again? Also how many Shitennou are there? Are any of them still brainwashed? How many of them are aware of the Senshi? And why haven't any of them tried to form an alliance with us before? The Senshi have been publicly known for years so why have no attempts at communication happened on the behalf of the Shitennou until now? Also, have you found your prince and if so, could we know who he is? He may be able to lead us to our own princess… Then, curiously, when did you two meet (Kunzite and Mina) and how long have you known about each other's secret identities? How long has Ami known? And finally, why the _hell_ haven't you told us any of this sooner?"

Makoto put her paper down, folding her hands on her lap and looked at Mina expectantly. Those were the most amazing set of notes she'd ever heard. No wonder Mako did so well in school. She and Rei imitated Mako.

"Please answer all of those questions." Mina and Ami looked a little flabbergasted, but Kunzite stepped forward.

"Do not interrupt me," he started. "First and foremost, no, you may not know the whereabouts of the Earth prince. He is under the proper surveillance and that is all any of you are allowed to know. I will answer no more questions regarding that manner. As for the rest of the Shitennou, that information is highly sensitive and I will not say how many of us there are, but it is enough. Yes, we were all captured by the evil queen, Metallia, and forced to fight against our people and even our prince, but we have all since regained our proper consciousness in this life because of Mina."

"The Shitennou met Mina 9 years ago (though we didn't know that at the time) when she first ventured out into the Negaverse's headquarters in the North Pole. She freed us before our full transformations were completed, stopping Metallia's plan to turn us into governable minions. From that day forth, the Shitennou have set about regaining parts of our past and locating for our prince. The reason why we have never approached the Senshi is simply timing. Eventually we may have the same goals," Kunzite spoke in a clipped tone, emphasizing his point, "but not currently."

"I have a few questions of my own now," Kunzite continued. "Who is the Moon princess? I wager you know." He was staring at Mina and she diverted her eyes. "I only ask because whoever she is, I demand that she is kept at bay. The prince does not need that sort of distraction right now."

Then it hit her. So the prince was close, close enough for Kunzite to be worried about their princess finding him, even though they haven't even found _her_ yet. The way Kunzite spoke of the prince at first made it appear as though he had him hidden away in another continent. She imagined the poor prince locked up in a room somewhere, interaction with the outside world kept to a bare minimum because Kunzite was a paranoid Nazi. It would seem feasible that he would be in a deserted island in the middle of the Pacific since Kunzite could teleport and had access to him anywhere he was. However, his fear of the Moon princess led her to believe the prince was closer, perhaps on _this_ island, in this same city even. Considering the protectiveness of Kunzite, the prince was probably being kept under his wing the entire time. So… did that mean that the princess was somewhere right under their noses as well? But even more importantly, was Kunzite right in believing that Mina knew who the princess was and wasn't telling them?

"I will insist that you all perform the job you were not able to do formerly."

"You know we have no control over that," Ami said. "They'll find each other regardless."

"Then let it be of their own accord, and in due time." He was staring them all down and she felt like his eyes lingered over her longer but she was just being paranoid. "Do not attempt to pair them up like your foolish past lives did. We all know how that ended. The Prince needs more time to discover himself and his powers, and prepare himself to rule before he can think of love."

"_Rule_?" Rei looked bug eyed.

"Your kingdom may have been destroyed," Kunzite answered, "but Earth still has its people. And a King. I will not let the future of this kingdom be compromised again by the likes of your ward. She must not distract him." Kunzite was always a severe man, but the seriousness in which he spoke to them now raised even more distress. "I strongly advise that you all keep her under control because this time around," he seemed to zone in on her. "I will not hesitate to kill the princess if she dares come between the prince and his throne."

* * *

***Usagi***

The Senshi meeting hadn't exactly gone as planned and because of the mayhem, aka collective yelling at Kunzite, everything took much longer to resolve than should have been necessary. She still considered the meeting a success because after Kunzite vanished from the room, Mina had done well in assuring her control over him and the safety of their princess. From there, the conversation quickly turned into a full blown gossip forum as everyone spoke over one another trying to fill each other about their summer and early fall. It had been so much fun that she couldn't find herself leaving until it was all over many hours later.

She was finally back at Mamoru's and was beyond petrified because it was after 5pm. He was always warning her about punctuality, so it should have been no surprise what the first words out his mouth were when she stepped out of his elevator.

"You're late."

"I know, I'm sorry."

She pulled her coat off, walking into his new apartment for the first time. It was even grander than the last. Before her, the foyer introduced her into a large doorway surrounded by double semi-circular stairs with thick mahogany banisters. Mamoru led her past the entrance, through to the middle and into another spacious area. He took the coat from her.

"Don't give me that look!" she pleaded. "I texted you that something came up. I'm sorry!"

"Twenty minutes would have been too much, but you're over an hour late." He threw her coat on top of the nearest chair they passed. "Now it's a matter of you making it up to me."

They walked into a part of the apartment where the entire corner was glass from floor to parts of the roof, and there were flowers everywhere. The smell was intoxicating. Some plants reached up to the ceiling, emerald vines decoratively intertwining around gates mounted on the window. There were even vines overcoming a loveseat and table. She couldn't believe he had a green house in his apartment. Everything was so vibrant, the air a little misty, but it made her remember why she loved summer so much. Gardens were like little plots of heaven. Mamoru lived in paradise!

She stood in the center, staring around her with inspiration. It always seemed that whenever she visited his home, she could always envision herself living alongside with him. He had such good taste, but she supposed anyone could live this outrageously fabulous if they had the means. He cut her admiration short when he grabbed her by the arm, dragging her up some stairs and down a short hallway.

They were in what she presumed to be his bedroom, with more glass and tall ceilings and a small living space commencing the sleeping area. He sat on the edge of his bed, the deep blue duvet almost as mesmerizing as his eyes.

"Come here, Usagi."

She obeyed and stood in front of him. He gave her a slow once over and it took all the strength in her to remain where she was and not tackle him. Just a few months prior, such attention would have made her crumple to the floor, but now it only fed her. If she could strip their relationship down to the root, this was it. While not entirely pure, and probably all kinds of wrong, it was simultaneously beautiful and dirty. And it was just fine with her.

She smiled down at him. Pulling her dress off over her head, she climbed on top of him and his hands went immediately to her waist. Grinding down, she slowly guided his head over her shoulder and collarbone. Keeping him at the base of her neck, he sucked and bit exactly how she loved. Pulling his face back up to hers, she stuck her tongue out and slid it over his bottom lip. He opened his mouth and followed suit, their tongues playing briefly before he forced her face closer and slipped inside her mouth.

She moaned into their kiss and held his face with both hands, reacting to each caress. He squeezed her ass and thighs tighter, keeping her moving on top of him, his erection crushing into her harder and harder. She was already soaring. These moments with him were what she lived for, what she needed. She was the moth to Mamoru's flame.

Tugging on his pant leg, Mamoru quickly got the hint and they separated, his hands fumbling with his zipper. She hopped off him and finished removing her underwear, his eyes only focusing on her body as he impatiently removed his pants. His look was of a wild animal caged and she loved it. He was restless and ready to attack the next opportunity he had. It couldn't get more erotic than that.

Removing the rest of his clothes, he sat back down and leaned forward, bringing her closer so that she was in front of him. Moving her legs apart, he kissed then slipped his tongue in between her. She bit her lip roughly. It was an awkward position, but it didn't matter. This was the answer to her prayers. He had the right kind of technique—no, magic—that would elevate her higher than anything else.

His assault on her clitoris caused her body to clench. She was tensing up wondrously, the hand currently caressing the back of her knees and thighs now moving enticingly higher. His two fingers entered her and curved deliberately onto her g-spot. She thrust her pelvis into his face. She was at his mercy and she wanted nothing more than for these intense feelings to last forever.

He finished her off and the affair left her seeing stars. He had no idea how much she missed his mouth on her. Mamoru's navigation skills were unparalleled and always sated her uniquely from other ways. Her orgasms from oral were beyond satisfying and all consuming, and nothing compared to it, ever.

"Aren't I so good to you?" Mamoru was kissing up her navel. "Even when you don't deserve it."

"Ow!" She pushed his head away when he bit under her ribcage. "So I was a little late today, who cares? I'm here now." She kissed him, tasting her tanginess in his mouth.

"I should have made you beg."

She laughed because this was so like him, always trying to find a way to punish her. It didn't make her upset anymore, as a matter of fact, she embraced it. Mamoru merely reflected her own hidden perversion and now that she understood that, fewer things seemed absurd. They both really liked when he took control, so who was she to stop their fun.

"I still can."

Mamoru smiled up at her, enjoying where she was going. He forced her on the bed and climbed on top.

"Then tell me what I want to hear." His arms went underneath her knees and she was re-inspired as soon as he slid his tip in. "How badly do you want it?"

"So bad!" She arched her back as he licked in between her breasts up to her neck. He was teasing her with just his head and she wiggled to get more of him in. "Fuck me, please!"

"What do you want?"

"Your cock!" She burst into giggles because it was still too much to say. Mamoru was amused, his chuckling low by her ear. He kissed down to her chest.

"Say it again."

Ok, now he was just screwing with her. But as his teeth clamped on her nipple, the need for him to be inside her became overwhelmingly strong. She never in her wildest dreams imagined she'd be role-playing with Mamoru and yet here she was.

"I want your big cock-!"

He thrust inside her fully and she choked on her words. Her plead came out as half a laugh, half a groan, but was one hundred percent exciting, and nothing else mattered after that.

* * *

Hope you all liked the chapter :)

Don't forget to review!

-CattyKitty


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